Justice Cannot Remain Silent: The Jiangyou Bullying Case and the Systemic Indifference and Abuse of Power in Chinese Society

In August 2025, a shocking video of campus bullying went viral online. The victim was a 14-year-old girl named Lai. The footage shows her being surrounded, beaten, humiliated, and even forcibly stripped. The perpetrators brazenly declared, “We’re not afraid of the police,” and “Even if we get detained, we’ll be out in a few days.” Ironically, before justice could even respond, their arrogant words were validated by reality: they received only minimal punishment or were let off with mere “criticism and education,” while citizens who spoke out for justice became the ones facing suppression.

This is not an isolated incident of school violence. It is a mirror reflecting a series of deep-rooted issues in contemporary Chinese society:

Neglect of Minors' Rights and Selective Law Enforcement

The bullies’ audacity is no accident—it reflects the real state of the legal system. “A few days in detention and we’re out”—this isn’t a child’s fantasy, but a conclusion repeatedly confirmed by reality. A mere slap on the wrist like “criticism and education” cannot heal the deep trauma suffered by the victim, nor can it deter the aggressive arrogance of the perpetrators. When public authority responds to violence against minors with only token paperwork and ignores the desperate pleas of the victim’s family, this selective enforcement is, in essence, complicity in violence.

Systemic Indifference: The Victim’s Family Left Isolated

Lai’s family repeatedly stated that she had been bullied by the same group multiple times. Her mother is deaf and mute, and the family is socioeconomically disadvantaged—factors that may have made her an easier target. In a country that claims to uphold social equity and protect vulnerable groups, a child became a “justifiable” target for group assault simply due to her family background. Even after the incident gained public attention, the families of the perpetrators have issued no apologies or compensation, revealing both a breakdown in societal ethics and a failure of local governance.

The Police Exist to Protect the People, Not Suppress Them

On the night of August 4th, a large crowd of citizens took to the streets, voicing a most basic demand: punish the perpetrators and protect children's rights. The police, however, responded as if facing a major threat—dispatching riot squads to disperse the crowd, clear the streets, detain people, and even causing violent clashes. Citizens cried out for justice, but were met with shields and arrests. This was not maintaining stability—it was the criminalization of those demanding justice.

The greatest danger a country faces is not public protests, but a system that refuses to listen to calls for justice; not the presence of violence, but when violence is tolerated and covered up.

Silence and Censorship Cannot Hide the Truth

The videos were deleted. The discussions were censored. Only fragments remain scattered across the internet. But for every person who once shouted, “Give the child justice!” in the streets, a scar remains that cannot be erased. If a society does not allow its people to express outrage at injustice, deeper fractures will inevitably form. True social stability is never achieved through suppression—it is earned through fairness and justice.

The Conscience of Society Must Be Awakened

The Jiangyou incident is not the end, but an alarm bell. It reminds us that social governance in China can no longer be based on “keeping things quiet,” nor can it continue to use “information control” as a substitute for addressing the truth. When faced with bullying, injustice, and the abusive suppression of public power, we must speak out—not to incite hatred, but to uphold the most basic line of justice in society.

Even if only one child suffers, we must not remain silent.
Even if only a handful take to the streets, we must not let them stand alone.

Justice will not come on its own. It can only be reached when more people stand up for it.