Zhou Lubao, who had actively participated in public discussions and helped workers demand unpaid wages, was sentenced by a Lanzhou court to 14 years in prison for extortion. Netizens posted lamenting that the one who fought for others' wages was instead heavily punished.
On September 11, the Chengguan District Court in Lanzhou delivered its first-instance verdict: migrant worker Jing Shuren was found guilty of nine counts of picking quarrels and provoking trouble for reposting posts demanding unpaid wages and debt collection, and was sentenced to 4 years; Zhou Lubao, a co-defendant, received 14 years for picking quarrels and provoking trouble and extortion. Jing Shuren was the only one of the seven defendants who had not taken a single cent. Prosecutors had recommended a sentence of 7 years and 6 months; after the charge of leading an evil force was dropped and he was reclassified as an accomplice, he was still sentenced to 4 years. All seven stated in court that they would appeal.
The Lanzhou procuratorate recently brought a public prosecution against Jing Shuren, accusing him of using his influence to repost Zhou Lubao's so-called false negative posts, with a sentencing recommendation of 7 years and 6 months.
Jing Shuren, a migrant worker and self-media creator in Gansu, was criminally detained by Lanzhou police in 2024 for repeatedly reposting posts by his friend Zhou Lubao that exposed companies' unpaid wages.