To read the recent news, one might think China is experiencing a mysterious bout of felonious squabbling. “Picking quarrels and provoking troubles,” (in Chinese, xunxin zishi), is the charge now facing a host of political activists, lawyers, and worker rights advocates. And this crime can earn one up to five years in prison, or 10 years for multiple offenses, under article 293 of China’s 1997 amended Criminal Law.
Lawyer Pu Zhiqiang, who previously represented artist activist Ai Weiwei, is the latest to be detained for the oddly named crime and is now being held under a form of criminal detention that can last 30 days before formal charges are filed. Pu was picked up by police on May 6 after joining a group of activists who met to discuss the June 4, 1989, massacre in Tiananmen Square, just weeks before its 25th anniversary.
