Gansu Public-Interest Advocate Jing Shuren Sentenced to Four Years Yesterday

(Rights Defense Network Information Center report) On September 12, 2026, this outlet learned that the case of Gansu public-interest advocate Jing Shuren, who was arrested for reposting on Weibo information about incidents involving migrant workers seeking wage arrears, was tried by the Chengguan District Court of Lanzhou City on September 11, 2026, which sentenced him at first instance to four years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble.” He stated in court that he would appeal. On March 16, 2024, he was criminally detained on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble for reposting information about incidents involving migrant workers seeking wage arrears on Weibo, and was later formally arrested and prosecuted. He has been detained at the Lanzhou No. 1 Detention Center.

Biography of Jing Shuren: Male, Han Chinese, from Yuntian Town, Longxi County, Dingxi City, Gansu Province; public-interest advocate and self-media practitioner. In 2018, he organized the “New Year, New Clothes · Qizhi Reading Room” charitable donation campaign in Shangdadao Village, Yuntian Town, Longxi County, his hometown, donating winter cotton-padded clothing to more than 200 elderly villagers and more than 400 books to the village women's federation. At the end of 2019, he went alone to rescue people from his hometown who had been deceived into joining a pyramid scheme, ultimately succeeding in freeing them. In 2020, after repeatedly reporting problems related to the Lianyungang–Khorgos Expressway to the provincial transportation department, Jing Shuren eventually helped bring about a proper resolution. At the same time, he was also often seen busy at the scene of efforts to help migrant workers recover unpaid wages, promote agricultural products, obtain compensation for accidents, and organize charitable donations.

On March 16, 2024, Jing Shuren was criminally detained by Lanzhou police on suspicion of picking quarrels and provoking trouble for reposting on Weibo information about incidents involving migrant workers seeking wage arrears, and has now been held for more than two years, at one point triggering widespread attention throughout society. Merely for reposting Weibo posts related to migrant workers seeking wage arrears, the migrant worker, who had never sought even half a cent in profit, has already been detained for more than two years, and the charge remains the same—picking quarrels and provoking trouble.

One year after the case was prosecuted to the court, his defense lawyer Zhu Xiaoding did not receive notice from the court until late March 2026 that a pretrial conference in the Jing Shuren case would be held from April 8 to 10, 2026. His defense lawyer Zhu Xiaoding posted, “As a lawyer, as a fellow netizen, and as his friend, I am extremely heartbroken: how could such a good person—someone who, throughout his entire life, had never received a single negative review from anyone—have suffered this calamity?” Jing Shuren is currently detained at the Lanzhou No. 1 Detention Center. On September 11, 2026, the Chengguan District Court of Lanzhou City sentenced Jing Shuren at first instance to four years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” and he stated in court that he would appeal. Sentence through: March 15, 2028.

This outlet will continue to follow Jing Shuren’s situation.