Picking quarrels and provoking trouble (
Chinese: 寻衅滋事罪;
pinyin: xúnxìn zīshì zuì), also translated as picking quarrels and stirring up trouble or picking quarrels and making trouble, is a type of
criminal offense in the
People's Republic of China.
Law
The crime first appeared under Article 293 of the 1997 revision of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, and has carried a maximum sentence of five years.[1] The former offense of "
hooliganism" was removed in the same revision of the criminal law.[2]
Anyone who commits any of the following acts of provocation and disturbing social order shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention, or public surveillance:
Beating others at will and the circumstances are egregious;
Chasing, intercepting, or insulting others in a serious manner;
Taking forcibly or arbitrarily damaging or occupying public or private property, if the circumstances are serious;
Making trouble in public places, causing serious disorder in public places.
Opinions
Zhu Zhengfu, a delegate to the
Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice-chair of the
All China Lawyers Association, said in 2022 that the law's "legal ambiguity breeds room for selective law enforcement, damages the public's legal interests and undermines judicial credibility." Zhu argued in 2022 that the law should be eliminated.[2]
Critics have said the offense is ill-defined, arbitrarily applied and facilitates the abuse of state power.[1][4][5][6][7]
List of notable people charged with picking quarrels and provoking trouble
Cao Shunli, a lawyer and human rights activist who was arrested at Beijing Airport in September 2013, and subsequently died in detention in March 2014[9]
Yang Maodong, a Chinese human rights lawyer, was sentenced to six years in prison in 2015 after being charged with disturbing public order and "picking quarrels and provoking trouble".[16]
Zhang Zhan (
张展), a
citizen journalist who reported on the
COVID-19 outbreak in
Wuhan was arrested in May 2020, and sentenced to four years in prison for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble" in December 2020.[17][18]
^Yuen, Samson (2015). "Friend or Foe? The Diminishing Space of China's Civil Society". China Perspectives. 103 (3). French Centre for Research on Contemporary China: 51-56.
^Nathan, Andrew (2015). "China's Challenge". Journal of Democracy. 26 (1). Johns Hopkins University Press: 156-170.
^Luo, Jiajun (2024). "Authoritarian Legal (Ir)rationality:The Saga of 'Picking Quarrels' in China". Asian-Pacific Law & Policy. 25 (3). University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa: 1–82.