Rights Commentary: The “Huijian” Case—A Righteous Man’s Blood Stains the Wilderness; Justice Must Not Fail Those Who Gather Kindling

Special Commentator：Liang Zhiwen

“Though my position is humble， I dare not forget my concern for the nation， even when matters are settled， judgment must await the closing of the coffin。” Today， these words， written by Huijian on his personal homepage， read as deeply sorrowful。 This self-media writer from Anqing， Anhui， wielded his pen like a sword， persistently exposing the shadowy network of interests behind cross-border telecom fraud rings， exposing countless concealed crimes， and ultimately bringing a million-yuan bounty from criminal networks overseas， and a carefully planned murder plot。 The killers disguised themselves as law enforcement officers and abducted him， taking him on a long journey， repeatedly beating and torturing him， then abandoning him， barely alive， in a remote wilderness， where he died in a desperate place with no one to help him。 The second-instance trial has concluded， and principal offender Zhao Bing was sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve， and after the news broke， public doubts and outrage would not subside for a long time。

The part of the reasoning in this case that most pains the public， is the judgment document’s mention that the victim had an underlying illness， and that the illness played a part in the death。 Many find this logic hard to accept： does having a chronic illness mean that a person must share responsibility for their death with the killer？ As the ancients said， a life for a life， a principle accepted through the ages。 Criminal law already has an unshakable rule， the “eggshell skull rule”： regardless of the victim’s physical condition， or whether they have an underlying illness， as long as the perpetrator deliberately commits a violent act that triggers or hastens death， the death should be attributed to the assailant。 If this line of defense is weakened， it will open a dangerous loophole： perpetrators could in the future use a victim’s high blood pressure or heart disease as an excuse to lessen their culpability。 If someone deliberately kills a frail elderly person， can they really receive a lighter sentence？ Of course not。

The heinous nature of this case goes far beyond an ordinary assault crime。 This was not a spur-of-the-moment conflict， but a retaliatory operation paid for by an overseas telecom fraud gang， involving the hiring of killers across provincial borders and careful planning。 The killers’ impersonation of public officials was itself a trampling of the credibility of law enforcement； they abducted and detained him， tortured him for a long time， and ultimately dumped the unconscious victim in a remote wilderness， knowing that no one would come to his aid in the isolated countryside， yet allowing his death to happen。 Every part of this chain of actions was linked， the perpetrators’ subjective malice was extreme， and their goal was to silence someone exposing criminal forces。 In a retaliatory torture-murder case targeting an anti-fraud whistleblower like this， the public broadly expects the killers to pay the heaviest price， and expects the death sentence to be carried out immediately， an expectation rooted in a plain sense of justice。

At the same time， calls from the public to recognize Huijian posthumously as a martyr have grown louder， and this demand is no baseless emotional outpouring。 In the hearts of countless ordinary people， Huijian has long been an undisputed hero of the people。 He held no public office， had no law enforcement powers， and relied only on his conscience as he alone confronted the telecom fraud schemes that harmed thousands of families， risking great danger to continuously expose evidence of crimes， and speaking up for countless families devastated by telecom fraud。 The Regulations on Commending Martyrs contain a catch-all clause， allowing for the designation of martyrs in cases involving particularly outstanding sacrifice by people worthy of emulation。 While the designation of martyrs follows strict legal procedures and cannot be determined solely by public sentiment， these calls embody the public’s values： people who give their lives to protect the public interest and fight criminal forces should not be buried in silence。 “Those who gather kindling for everyone must not be left to freeze to death in the wind and snow。” Society hopes that he will be granted a formal honor to console his memory， and to tell all whistleblowers who dare to step forward that the country and the people see their sacrifices。

We acknowledge that the sentence falls within the statutory range， and that the law has professional principles for determining guilt and sentencing。 But the function of the law has never been limited to mechanically applying statutory provisions， it must also respond to society’s sense of fairness and serve to deter evil and uphold justice。 Cross-border telecom fraud gangs dare to pay large sums to hire killers precisely because they hope to use violence to silence those who expose them。 If such targeted retaliatory torture and murder ultimately do not receive punishment weighty enough to match the crime， the impression this gives outsiders is one of tacitly condoning criminal forces， leaving all civilian anti-fraud monitors and whistleblowers in fear：speaking up for what is right may bring a deadly reprisal， while the killers still have a chance of escaping the harshest punishment。

Nor can we overlook that the person behind the order， “Major”， remains at large， and the mastermind at the source of this case has not yet been brought to justice。 Punishing only the killers who carried out the attack is far from rooting out the evil completely。 Only by bringing the entire criminal chain to justice and ensuring that the mastermind behind it also faces the harshest punishment can justice be complete。

“The human heart is a scale， and public judgment will determine right from wrong。” With a single pen， Huijian took up arms against the darkness， and at the cost of his life， exposed one corner of the telecom fraud iceberg。 We respect judicial procedure， but the questions this case leaves behind cannot be avoided： for heinous crimes involving deliberately hiring killers， impersonating law enforcement officers， and torturing and murdering an anti-fraud hero， did the sentence sufficiently match the harm they caused society？ How should we remember and honor a courageous person who sacrificed himself after standing alone against criminal forces and speaking up for the people？

The law’s bottom line should protect those who dare to take up arms against the darkness。 May the protest and review proceedings carefully heed the public’s reasonable concerns and uphold the bottom line of punishing evil； and may these public calls prompt the relevant departments to give serious consideration to the matter of recognizing him with an honor， so that the solitary person who gathered kindling does not， after bleeding， suffer heartbreak as well。