On December 25th, in the third court hearing of the “Xueli Planet Case” in Xilinhot City, Inner Mongolia, five lawyers were prohibited from bringing electronic devices into the courtroom when they were preparing to attend the trial as observers. The lawyers raised objections and were met with pepper spray by court police. On the 28th, the five lawyers released a statement demanding that the relevant court police be dealt with according to the law.
Xueli Planet Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Xueli Planet”) was brought to court for an alleged illegal pyramid scheme on the morning of the 25th at Xilinhot City Intermediate Court in Inner Mongolia. According to a joint statement released on the 28th by lawyers Guo Rui, Yang Xiao, Wang Xingwei, Li Qingduo, and Leng Hui, the five were forcibly subjected to body checks by court police upon entering the courtroom, and were prohibited from carrying backpacks, computers, phones, and all other belongings. A dispute arose, leading to court police seizing one lawyer’s phone and spraying pepper spray, causing injuries.
Guo Rui, the lawyer who suffered the most severe injuries, stated on the 27th that being sprayed with pepper spray made him feel “like facing death”, with each second feeling agonizingly long, filled with despair and excruciating pain. The aftereffects have started to show with dry, swollen, and painful eyes, as well as pain in the scalp, neck, and hands. Guo Rui recounted sweating in bed at night, feeling the pepper spray residue on his forehead and skin, causing him intense pain. He continues to experience discomfort, even finding it difficult to keep down food.
After the five lawyers reported the incident to the police, they received a notice on the morning of the 28th from the Xilinhot City Public Security Bureau stating that the case does not fall under their jurisdiction, thus refusing to file a case.
The joint statement by the five lawyers pointed out that the new “Judicial Police Safety Inspection Rules” do not prohibit the carrying of phones or computers. The act of court police seizing lawyers’ phones and legal documents, and spraying pepper spray causing eye injuries, is deemed a clear case of excessive law enforcement and intentional harm.
The statement demanded that the leadership of the Xilinhot City Court publicly apologize to the lawyers, take legal action against the responsible court police, and compensate the five lawyers for the medical expenses resulting from the injuries they sustained.
Guo Rui further expressed his dismay over his violated rights as a criminal defense lawyer who fights for justice daily, questioning how he can continue to help others if his own rights are not upheld.
Xueli Planet is a company established in Beijing. In February 2023, the Alxa League Public Security Bureau’s Ar Horqin Banner Sub-bureau in Inner Mongolia arrested Xueli Planet founder Ren Bo and four others from Beijing on charges of involvement in pyramid schemes, freezing funds exceeding 6 million yuan.
However, according to Xueli Planet’s description, the platform is referred to as a “video library” where registered users read books by watching short videos. Although it operates with a membership card sales commission system involving seven levels, the company maintains it is not a pyramid scheme. As early as 2022, the Beijing Chaoyang District Market Supervision Administration had investigated Xueli Planet and concluded that the company had all necessary qualifications and found no evidence of illegal activities such as pyramid scheme recruitment or malicious online sales, resulting in the decision not to file a case.
Despite this, the Inner Mongolia police insisted on categorizing Xueli Planet’s operation as a “pyramid scheme” and initiated a cross-province arrest.
The approach by local Chinese public security authorities in targeting entrepreneurs for opportunistic law enforcement, known as “distant-water fishing”, has become a common phenomenon in China amid economic downturn and tight local finances. According to recent reports in Guangdong Province’s “Confidential Report”, nearly ten thousand private enterprises were sealed off in Guangzhou alone in 2023, with most cases showing signs of opportunistic law enforcement.
In response to this, analysts quoted by the Financial Times point out that the opaque law enforcement system in China is exacerbating safety concerns among entrepreneurs and investors.