Who he is
Yang Shunmin (杨顺敏), born February 7, 1984, is a citizen of Tangxia Beijie, Tangxia Town, Ruian City, Zhejiang Province. He served as a police officer at the Tangxia police station of the Ruian Public Security Bureau. Beginning in 2021, he posted videos and statements on Chinese social media criticizing corruption and misconduct by local party, government, and judicial officials, presenting himself as a whistleblower.
Online criticism campaign
Between March 2021 and April 2025, Mr. Yang posted more than 50 critical videos and statements through his WeChat Moments (over 2,000 friends), a Douyin account "@四知山人—杨顺敏" (over 17,000 followers), and a 500-member WeChat group "塘下说四群". His videos included a series titled "灵魂拷问：您为什么不去做？" ("Soul-searching: why won't you act?"), criticizing what he described as misconduct by local officials; he also published about ten critical videos and statements aimed at the Ruian discipline-inspection authorities. According to a human-rights database entry, some of his 2024 videos drew more than 20,000 views each, and one 2025 video drew 64,799 views.
Detention, trial, and sentence
On April 18, 2025, Ruian police detained Mr. Yang on suspicion of 寻衅滋事罪 (picking quarrels and provoking troubles). The Ruian procuratorate approved his formal arrest on the same charge. The prosecution alleged that, from March 2021 to April 2025, he had repeatedly used abusive and threatening language toward 19 public officials and related work units — including a deputy secretary of Ruian City — through fabricated skits and posts on social media, causing what it called a malign social influence.
His case went to trial at the Ouhai District Court in Wenzhou in November 2025. Mr. Yang maintained that his videos targeted officials' own misconduct and that he was exercising the constitutional right to criticize and supervise, and he disputed the authenticity of some of the videos and screenshots attributed to him. His defense lawyer argued that the videos had been promptly deleted after mediation and had limited circulation. On December 25, 2025, the court convicted him of 寻衅滋事罪 and sentenced him to two years and six months in prison, with his term running to October 17, 2027. His family said they would appeal.
Current status
As of the latest dated evidence (December 2025), Mr. Yang was being held at the Leqing City Detention Center in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province, serving the two-and-a-half-year sentence. The outcome of the reported appeal is not known.
Media profile and archive: Yang Shunmin (杨顺敏) — Media Profile & Archive