On the afternoon of August 9, 2025, in front of the Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco, dozens of overseas Chinese gathered to support 14-year-old Lai Jinghan from Jiangyou, Sichuan Province. They protested the Chinese authorities’ protection of the bully, who is a second-generation official, and the suppression of those who speak up for the victims.
July 22, Lai Jinghan, a 14-year-old girl from Jiangyou, was threatened by three underage girls and taken to an abandoned building, forced to kneel down with only her underwear and shorts remaining. The perpetrators beat her with a long stick, pulled her hair, slapped her, kicked her back, for hours. Some of the violence was captured on video and spread online. Lai Jinghan’s mother is deaf-mute, her father disabled, and the girl, who had long been isolated and bullied at school, was covered in bruises, with swollen eyes, and required hospitalization. The police initially claimed she only suffered minor abrasions.
On August 4, the Jiangyou Public Security Bureau reported that the perpetrators had been given administrative penalties and sent to a correctional school, but videos filmed by the public showed that the bullies were not receiving any corrective education and were instead seen playing billiards outside. The bullies, being children of local high-ranking officials, enjoyed systemic protection.
On the same day, peaceful protests by Jiangyou residents demanding justice were met with violent crackdowns and arrests by the public security, with many beaten and dragged away on livestock transport vehicles. Therefore, the Chinese authorities’ protection and violent suppression have sparked strong backlash among overseas Chinese.
Legal worker Wang Han called on citizens to awaken at the rally: “What is a citizen? It is the holder of rights, the master of the country. We can protect ourselves, supervise the government, participate in decision-making, and bravely defend our rights.” Wang Han emphasized, “We must stand up, not only to support the victimized girl and the people of Jiangyou but also to accuse the Chinese Communist Party of dictatorship. We must tell the CCP that we are citizens, not slaves! If the government does not provide rights, we must take them back ourselves!”
Wang Han stressed, “Ask this government, can it protect children from bullying? Listen during peaceful protests? Allow people to vote? If not, we must reclaim our rights free from fear, the right to assemble, and the right to vote, take back our country that belongs to us.”
Guan Yongjie pointed out that the widespread crackdown by the police in the Jiangyou incident is not due to the invincibility of the perpetrators’ family background but the distortion of China’s legal values. The law prioritizes “order” over “justice, equality, freedom, and dignity,” emphasizing stability over the rights of victims. The typical approach to dealing with public incidents is to suppress escalation, swiftly handle grassroots personnel, severely crack down on those who continue to speak up, while blocking investigations into the responsible parties. The result is a lack of accountability for regulators, victims denied justice, public anger managed through technical means, and questioning of official outcomes being equated with guilt.
Guan Yongjie concluded, “As long as the authoritarian party remains in power, the Chinese people will not enjoy fair justice or a dignified living environment.”
Liu Chenchen pointed out that the protests by Jiangyou parents were for truth and justice, yet they were met with violent repression by the police. He emphasized that this is a nationwide phenomenon: “Bullying goes unchecked, the truth remains hidden, victims are further harmed, parents are threatened, protests are suppressed.” He called for societal attention, stating that this is not just Jiangyou’s issue but could be your city tomorrow.
He said, “Sheltering bullies is a crime, suppressing the people is tyranny! End the protection, hold the responsible accountable, thoroughly investigate Jiangyou, restore campus safety and social justice! Justice needs us to boldly say ‘no.’ The real danger is not in standing up but in remaining silent. Countless parents nationwide are speaking up for their children’s safety. Jiangyou will not be forgotten, the truth will not be buried, and justice will not be silenced.”
Qiu Yuefei recalled the experience of a high school classmate who was bullied. The bully threatened, used violence, and even sexually assaulted the classmate causing her to disappear. She pointed out that the Jiangyou incident shows that bullying has been rampant for years and has exposed how the Chinese dictatorship oppresses the people and suppresses voices of justice. She called for the elimination of the evil dictatorship, speaking up for persecuted compatriots, and fighting for the rights of the 1.4 billion oppressed compatriots.
Branch director Jiang Fei of the Hayward area expressed that the night in Jiangyou should have been calm but was torn apart by bloody violence. Students, parents, and peaceful demonstrators who oppose bullying and seek justice were struck with batons and dragged into police vehicles. The CCP fears the truth, fears people speaking out, and we cannot remain silent. Silence will only allow tyranny to prevail. Today’s rally is to ignite courage to make the world hear the voice of the Chinese people. He called for, “Overthrow the Communist Party, Xi Jinping step down, give us back our freedom, let the people speak!”
Fan Guolin stated that the brutal bullying of the 14-year-old girl from Jiangyou led to citizens taking to the streets for justice, only to be met with violent repression, tear gas, pepper spray, and batons against unarmed masses, which is outrageous. He strongly condemned the CCP for trampling on human rights, called on the international community to pay attention to the Jiangyou resistance, demand rigorous punishment for the perpetrators, safeguard the rights of victims, and end the suppression of peaceful protests. He called for unity in shouting for freedom and justice.