Poonam Sharma
Over the past several years, China has seen intermittent yet substantial civil unrest — from irate homeowners complaining about incomplete apartments to depositors complaining about losing their life savings. But the latest outburst of violence in Jiangyou, a small city in the province of Sichuan, has followed an unusually fiery and symbolic course. The violence started in a brutal case of bullying but soon escalated into a large-scale protest against the ruling Communist Party itself. The reverberations of history are difficult to resist.
Sichuan: A Province with a History of Revolt
Sichuan is regularly equated with spicy hotpot, pandas, and rolling countryside. But under this picturesque exterior is a province with revolutionary blood. A well-known Chinese proverb states: “Qing xiaobei rang, Shu xian luan. Qing ping yi, Shu hou ding” — “Before the nation descends into chaos, Sichuan is already in turmoil. Even after the nation is pacified, Sichuan is the last to calm down.”
This historical characteristic is not new. In 1911, the Sichuan Railway Protection Movement sparked the Wuchang Uprising, which eventually overthrew the Qing Dynasty. It was the anger of the local populace at the government’s plan to transfer rail power to foreign financiers that resulted in the mass mobilization and protest. The Qing court countered with violent crackdowns, further inciting the revolt.
Sichuan today might be stirring once again.
The Jiangyou Bullying Incident: A Spark in the Tinderbox
On July 22, 2025, a 14-year-old girl, last name Lai, was enticed into an empty building by three schoolmates in Jiangyou. For four hours, she was bullied, stripped, beaten, and robbed — and the whole experience was recorded and posted on the internet by her bullies themselves.
This was not a one-off act of brutality. The bullies were said to have ties — one rumored to be the daughter of an official in the local police force. The victim, by contrast, hailed from a poor family. Her mother is mute and deaf, her father disabled. Her family begged for justice, only to be stonewalled by the school and authorities.
The assailants received little punishment: nothing more than “administrative measures” and a transfer to another school. The public was incensed — not just at the violence of the act but at the flagrant miscarriage of justice. Videos of the attack proliferated on the web, fuelling angry debate and demands for accountability.
From Justice to Rebellion
The residents of Jiangyou — a population of only 730,000 — did not remain quiet. Indignant citizens protested in front of schools and government offices, calling for justice. Shouts of “Be honest,” “Punish the assailants,” and even “Down with the Communist Party” rang out. Citizens called for an open investigation and actual responsibility.
At first, the protest was peaceful. Officials sat down with the family of the victim and seemed to make gestures of cooperation. This act instilled hope in residents, who started to disperse — thinking their voices had been heard.
But then came something that shocked the city.
A State Response with Violence and Humiliation
In the background, city authorities had summoned reinforcements — riot police from surrounding Mianyang. During the night, things went out of control. Videos captured armored officers swooping down on the protestors. Tear gas filled the night air. Pepper spray was used. Dozens were beaten and hauled off. Screams filled the night, broken by sounds that sounded like gunshots.
One of the videos depicted protesters being hauled in cattle trucks — the very same trucks used to transport pigs and cows. For many, it was the ultimate indignity. “They treat us like animals,” one protester was quoted as saying. “As if we don’t matter.”
Among the people beaten was one young man who was protecting an old woman. Another video featured the victim’s parents — both disabled — kneeling before authorities, pleading for assistance. Their pleas were disregarded.
This brutal crackdown turned outrage into rage. Social media erupted with solidarity for the demonstrators and anger with the government. But Chinese censors labored around the clock to scrub away evidence, blocking hashtags and deleting footage. Nevertheless, the harm had been done — the silence had been broken.
A Sign of Something Bigger?
This isn’t about some single girl or some single city. The Jiangyou protests, such as the White Paper Movement of 2022 or the Foxconn walkouts, show the breaks in the wall of China’s authoritarian stability. But Sichuan is not any place. Its past is drenched in revolution. If the Sichuan people are stirring again, it may be a harbinger of greater unrest to come.
The case also highlights an ominous trend: shielding high-ranking criminals, especially those with connections to the Party, at the expense of justice. As economic stresses, social disparity, and political oppression escalate, these flashes of resistance are no longer isolated instances. They are becoming a sign of broader discontent — a slow-burning revolution under China’s tightly managed facade.
The Spirit of Sichuan Lives On
In a society where fear often silences dissent, the courage of Jiangyou’s citizens stands out. They spoke for a girl whose own mother could not — quite literally. “Her mother is mute,” one protester said. “But we are not.”
The iconic picture of cattle trucks carrying away protesters might one day be part of the historical memory of a regime that seemed to have lost its touch with its people. And if history is any indicator, when Sichuan burns, the rest of the empire cannot stay silent for long.
