Hu Hongling, a lawyer at Anhui Qingheqing Law Firm, sparked heated online discussion after sharing a PPT on layoff optimization paths inspired by the "Xingyu Incident".
Star Union Shares personnel punishment controversy: The person in charge of human resources was dismissed after being dismissed as a director in the past, and the position was questioned.
In a Zhihu Q&A, a netizen revealed that Xingyu's layoff of fresh graduates was taken to the EU, and said that the student had previously gone through the labor arbitration process, reporting up the line all the way to the municipal Party secretary, and that all of them concluded the company's layoffs were not in violation and there was no subsidy fraud.
Reports claim that on September 5, 2026, after fresh graduates laid off by Changzhou Xingyu Co., Ltd. filed complaints with overseas institutions, the local labor department and officials reversed their position and ruled that the company's layoffs were illegal while avoiding accountability for subsidy fraud; related discussions on Zhihu were deleted.
On September 4, 2026, after Radio Free Asia reported on the Changzhou Xingyu incident, Chinese workers paid widespread attention to defending their rights with the help of the EU Forced Labor Regulation, and several labor experts offered interpretations of the determination standards and the supply chain complaint mechanism.
On September 3, 2026, New Yellow River reported that Changzhou Xingyu's full-time production employees fell by more than 40% in 2025, while labor outsourcing hours surged 25.9% against the trend, and mass contract cancellations by fresh graduates occurred one after another.
Volkswagen China announced that it had immediately launched a special investigation, and stated that the principle of respecting workers' lawful rights and interests equally applies to the supply chain system.
On September 1, 2026, Volkswagen's China unit responded to complaints that Changzhou-based Xingyu Shares had collectively pushed out fresh graduates, saying the group had launched a special investigation into supply chain companies and stressing that respecting workers' rights is a core principle of its operations.
Several fresh graduates whose employment contracts were terminated by Changzhou Xingyu complained about the matter to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and the German Volkswagen Group; the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and relevant Volkswagen departments confirmed that they had received the materials.
On August 28, 2026, fresh graduates whose offers were rescinded by Changzhou Xingyu Shares filed complaints over labor rights violations with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and their client, Germany's Volkswagen Group. The HKEX's Listing Division and Volkswagen's investigation office successively confirmed in writing that the complaints had been received and would be examined.
On August 27, 2026, banners with intimidating slogans were photographed hanging within the grounds of Xingyu Auto Lamp Co., Ltd. in Changzhou, Jiangsu. The banners read: “Whoever smashes Xingyu’s rice bowl, Xingyu will smash theirs,” sparking widespread discussion.
CCTV cited data from the Ministry of Public Security stating that the number of criminal cases nationwide decreased by 16.1% year-on-year from January to May. However, the phenomenon of multiple regions investing financially in expanding detention centers and prisons has led to external doubts about the real public security situation.
In 2025, Hong Kong recorded a total of 89,137 criminal cases, 50% more than the 59,225 cases in 2019. Among them, 43,212 were fraud cases, accounting for half, with victims defrauded of HK$8.1 billion. Fraud cases have multiplied fivefold from fewer than 10,000 in 2019.
Data shows that in 2024, the annual number of criminal cases filed by Chinese police (Public Security) exceeded 10 million, a sharp increase compared to 2000, with the majority of short-sentence cases involving various "pocket crimes."