“Police Seize Land in Meixian, Shaanxi, to Build a Market (2026.10.16)”
On October 16, in Group 5 of Dongguan Village, Shoushan Subdistrict, Meixian County, Baoji, Shaanxi, the county government deployed a large number of police officers. Together with the Meixian Urban Construction Investment Company, they seized a plot of villagers’ land for the construction of a food market.
Tighter Controls at Tibet’s Potala Palace Square: Questioned for Taking Photos, Summoned by Police over a Group Picture (2026.10.17)
On October 17, a social media user reported that people taking photos in Potala Palace Square in Tibet were being taken into a police office for questioning. “Everyone who takes a photo gets registered,” the user said, adding, “It feels like the restrictions are getting tighter every day.”
Over the past few years, many people have been questioned and ordered to leave by police for posing with banners in or around Potala Palace Square. Being questioned merely for taking photos, however, is a more recent development.
On October 1 this year, a group of social media users had their chat group forcibly disbanded by the authorities simply for taking a group photo in the square. The group administrator was also summoned by police to give a statement. Photography has recently also been banned at some popular photo spots farther away from the square.
Such ever-tightening controls are not unique to Tibet. Since Xi Jinping came to power, intense scrutiny of activities in public spaces and routine “stability maintenance” measures have been spreading across China.
Workers and Factory Owners Join Forces in Zhaoqing, Guangdong; Hundreds Surround Town Government Offices (2026.10.12)
On October 12, hundreds of workers and factory owners from the Zhaoxing Electroplating Upgrading and Environmental Protection Industrial Park surrounded the Jinli town government offices in Gaoyao District, Zhaoqing, Guangdong, demanding compensation for fire damage and payment of overdue wages. One worker said the protest had made “progress” but provided no further details.
The protest stemmed from a fire more than a year earlier. On August 15, 2025, a fire broke out in the industrial park, destroying numerous factories. Affected factory owners allege that the company where the fire started mishandled hazardous chemical storage and emergency response, while shortcomings in the park’s planning, construction, fire safety, and day-to-day management allowed the flames to spread rapidly. They have therefore sought compensation from that company and the relevant parties responsible for the park.
According to factory owners and workers involved in the protest, compensation remained unresolved more than a year after the fire. The disruption to the affected factories’ production and business operations has also left many workers facing prolonged wage arrears.
“Unpaid for Nearly Six Months, Tangshan Road Maintenance Workers Rally Outside Transport Bureau to Demand Wages (2026.10.15)”
On October 15, dozens of road maintenance workers gathered outside the Qianxi County Transport Bureau in Tangshan, Hebei Province, demanding payment of overdue wages. According to the workers, they have not been paid for five and a half months. After repeated unsuccessful attempts to recover their wages, they felt they had no choice but to protest outside the bureau. Publicly available information shows that the bureau outsourced the county’s road maintenance work to Hunan Renrenjie Group.
Over 100 Workers in Yinchuan March in the Streets, Win Back Unpaid Wages (Oct. 11–12, 2026)
On October 11 and 12, in Helan County, Yinchuan, Ningxia, more than 100 workers at the main vegetable farm of Ruixin Agricultural Development Co., Ltd. went on strike for two straight days. Through marches and by blocking the gates, they succeeded in getting the wages that had gone unpaid for two months.
Nantong Delivery Riders Act Bravely, Beat Man Who Secretly Filmed Woman (Oct. 14, 2026)
On October 14, a group beating broke out at Shimao Plaza in the Nantong Economic and Technological Development Zone, Jiangsu Province. According to witnesses, a woman found that a man had followed her to a restroom and secretly filmed her, and she immediately turned to nearby delivery workers for help. On hearing the news, dozens of delivery riders quickly surrounded the man, and some of them, out of righteous anger, beat him. Police then checked the man’s phone and took him away for investigation.
“Forced Eviction of Nanjing Street Vendors Sparks Repeated Fierce Clashes; Several Injured and Arrested (October 11–12, 2026)”
On October 11 and 12, local government personnel, urban management officers (chengguan), and police forcibly evicted vendors from the Daishan Night Market in Nanjing’s Yuhuatai District, Jiangsu Province, sparking repeated fierce clashes over two consecutive days. Several vendors were beaten and injured, and others were arrested.
According to vendors familiar with the situation, the local government launched a “rectification” campaign at the previously thriving night market in September, introducing management fees and a lottery system to allocate stalls. Some vendors alleged that because they had not bribed government personnel, they were either unable to register or failed to secure a stall through the lottery, losing their eligibility to trade. Others were allocated stalls in poor locations.
As China’s economy continues to slide and many people at the bottom struggle just to feed themselves, authorities have raised the base for social insurance contributions to fund their own lavish spending, and have vowed to use big data to track down everyone who hasn’t enrolled. The move has sparked strong public anger. This video gathers what people across Chinese social media have been saying about social insurance over the past two days.
Hundreds of Homeowners in Nanning Tear Down Property Management Office — Residents Drive Out Negligent Management Company (October 10)
On the evening of October 10, a large-scale homeowner protest broke out at the Chengwang Junxi residential complex in Jiangnan District, Nanning, Guangxi. Hundreds of homeowners joined forces to tear down the property management office and related facilities, driving the long-negligent management staff out of the complex, while many elementary school students cheered them on at the scene. According to homeowners, the management company neglected its duties for years and left the complex in squalor: residents turned public green spaces into vegetable plots and built pig pens, chicken coops, and duck sheds there, and even used the complex’s swimming pool to raise fish.
Guangxi Developer Seizes Land by Force in Bobai — Hired Thugs Spray Villagers with Pepper Spray and Fire Extinguishers (October 9)
On October 9, a land-grab clash broke out in Dadong Village, Dadong Town, Bobai County, Yulin, Guangxi. To make way for a real estate project, a local developer hired a large group of unidentified thugs to seize the land by force. The thugs sprayed protesting villagers directly with pepper spray and dry-powder fire extinguishers. According to villagers, police arrived at the scene but took no action against the thugs.