(Shandong – August 13, 2025) On July 28, 2025, Yu Kai, a lawyer with Shandong Xiaolin Law Firm, formally mailed a legislative recommendation titled “On the Abolition of the Crime of Picking Quarrels and Provoking Trouble” to the Legislative Affairs Commission of the National People’s Congress, once again expressing deep concern within the legal community over the continued existence of this charge.
In the recommendation, Yu Kai outlined four main reasons for abolishing the the Crime of “Picking Quarrels and Provoking Trouble”:
Vague Description of the Crime: The statutory language of this crime lacks clear boundaries, making it difficult for the public to reasonably anticipate their rights and obligations, thereby seriously undermining the authority and credibility of the Criminal Law;
Encourages Selective Law Enforcement: In the practice of law enforcement, the charge is often used as a “catch-all provision” to crack down on acts that fall between administrative violations and criminal offenses, becoming a key tool for selective enforcement by law enforcement agencies;
Conflicts with the Principle of Legality in Criminal Law: Its vagueness clearly contradicts the criminal law’s principle of legality, making it highly susceptible to abuse in judicial practice;
Deficiencies in Legislation and Judicial Interpretation: The legislative basis is not only weak, but the judicial interpretations have also failed to impose effective restrictions on its application.
Addressing the frequent use of the “picking quarrels and provoking trouble” charge in recent years against social behaviors such as speech, petitioning, complaints, and accusations, Yu Kai sharply criticized this trend in the recommendation, stating that it seriously erodes citizens’ right to free expression, deprives public power of proper oversight, and violates the principle of restraint that criminal law should uphold.
In addition, Yu Kai also suggested post-abolition paths for handling such conduct: depending on the specific circumstances of the behavior, existing charges such as intentional injury, insult, robbery, intentional destruction of property, or gathering a crowd to disrupt public order could be applied; for minor cases, administrative penalties can be given according to the Public Security Administration Punishments Law, without resorting to criminal punishment.
As early as August 2023, Yu Kai, together with legal professionals Lan Qingzhou, Ma Xiaolin, Yu Zhaoyan, and Zhang Wenpeng, had, in the name of Shandong Xiaolin Law Firm, submitted the first recommendation to the Legislative Affairs Commission to abolish the charge. That document cited three widely known cases, the Zhu Yuzhen case in Huainan, Anhui; the “privately built floating bridge” case of Huang Deyi in Taonan, Jilin; and the “petitioning mother” Tang Hui case, sparking strong reaction from society.
Because he touched upon sensitive cases, Yu Kai himself faced severe reprisals. On July 4, 2024, the Qingdao Municipal Bureau of Justice issued a Decision of Administrative Penalty, citing “illegally sensationalizing a case” and imposing the administrative penalty of “one year suspension from legal practice.”
A year later, upon regaining his lawyer’s license, he once again chose to confront the clash between legal ideals and reality. “Though it leads to the light, the path is filled with blades and snowstorms” has become a reflection of his renewed commitment to the rule of law process.
In this new Recommendation, Yu Kai continues to cite multiple cases that have drawn public attention, including the Zhang Wenpeng and Xu Zongping case, the Zhou Lubao and Jing Shuren case in Lanzhou, and the case in Huainan in which the entire Zhu Yuzhen family was charged with “picking quarrels and provoking trouble,” to illustrate the practical abuse and real harm caused by the charge.
Reported by Special Correspondent Gao Zhensai for ChinaAid