"Summary of Collective Resistance Events in China (Published Records) — May 2026"
In May 2026, the Yesterday project documented 59 collective resistance events occurring across China. Labor rights actions again made up a significant share of the month's incidents, with a cluster of wage-related protests erupting around International Workers' Day. Also notable were a rise in clashes triggered by urban management (chengguan) and traffic police confiscating stalls and vehicles, as well as increases in student demonstrations and forced demolitions. Worth highlighting: in three of the month's larger-scale events, protesters won. These were the Ludian resettlement-estate residents who pushed back against parking fees imposed by their community management; the Leshan, Sichuan homeowners who protested the government's failure to transfer their household registration (hukou) after they purchased homes; and the students in Wenshang, Shandong who challenged their school's policy of keeping them late.
I. Breakdown by Protesting Group
Workers and laborers of all types: 18 incidents (30.5%)
Breakdown: manufacturing workers (10), office and white-collar workers (4), freight drivers (1), performers/actors (1), healthcare workers (1), teachers (1)
Students and parents of students: 7 incidents (11.9%)
Homeowners and resettlement-housing residents: 5 incidents (8.5%) — including forced demolitions, stalled/abandoned housing projects, and broken government promises on household registration (hukou) transfers
Farmers/rural residents: 4 incidents (6.8%)
Bereaved family members: 4 incidents (6.8%) — including those acting alone (3) and jointly with netizens (1)
Netizens: 3 incidents (5.1%)
Other groups: 18 incidents (30.5%) — including petitioners, shop owners, vehicle owners, investors, bank depositors, street vendors, stallholders, social insurance contributors, tap water users, business owners, and patients
II. Geographic Distribution
Zhejiang: 6 incidents
Guangxi / Hunan: 5 incidents each
Jiangsu / Sichuan / Guangdong: 4 incidents each
Yunnan / Shanghai / Shaanxi / Hebei: 3 incidents each
Shanxi / Shandong / Chongqing / Hainan / Fujian / Hubei: 2 incidents each
Other regions (Ningxia, Qinghai, Beijing, Henan, Liaoning, the State Bureau for Letters and Calls, Chinese social media): 1 incident each
III. Causes of Protest
Wage arrears and labor disputes: 17 incidents (28.8%)
Specifically: unpaid wages (7), failure to pay housing provident fund/social insurance contributions (2), pay cuts (1), wage clawbacks (1), refusal to refund prepaid card balances (1), factory relocation without compensation (1), refusal to compensate for occupational poisoning (1), disguised layoffs (1), failure to pay severance (1), disputed post-acquisition compensation (1)
Forced demolition and housing disputes: 6 incidents (10.2%) — including forced demolitions (4) and stalled/abandoned housing projects (2)
Resistance triggered by chengguan and traffic police confiscating stalls and vehicles: 3 incidents (5.1%)
Medical malpractice and health rights: 3 incidents (5.1%)
Student rights (power outages, school rules, food safety, abuse): 4 incidents (6.8%)
Financial fraud: 3 incidents (5.1%)
Other causes: 23 incidents (39.0%) — including environmental damage, forced psychiatric institutionalization (被精神病), government violations of hukou transfer commitments, traffic enforcement clashes, tap water contamination, school bullying, and demands for electoral rights
IV. Scale of Events
1 – 9 participants: 14 incidents
10 – 99 participants: 15 incidents
100 – 999 participants: 23 incidents
1,000 – 9,999 participants: 7 incidents
V. Police Repression
Police presence confirmed: 29 incidents (approximately 49.2%)
Confirmed use of force or arrests: 10 incidents (approximately 16.9%)
Notable cases: multiple investors arrested after consecutive days of rallying outside Pan-China Insurance in Guangzhou; social insurance petitioners in Shanghai forcibly loaded onto buses and removed; displaced residents from Waitan Block 190 violently ejected by security guards outside Shanghai's High Court; villagers in Pingnan, Guangxi beaten by riot police after protesting environmental damage caused by a quarry.