Hualing Fu Interviewed on Yu Huan's Sentence Reduction from Life to 5 Years (NY Times)

"Court in China Reduces Sentence for Man Who Killed Debt Collector"

Javier Hernandez and Iris Zhao
The New York Times
23 June 2017

BEIJING — A Chinese court commuted on Friday the sentence of a man who had killed a creditor who had harassed his mother, in a closely watched case that has provoked a national debate about family honor and filial piety.

     The Shandong Higher People’s Court in eastern China sentenced the 22-year-old Yu Huan to five years in prison, overturning a lower court’s sentence of life in prison that had been widely condemned.

     Mr. Yu was working alongside his mother, Su Yinxia, at the family’s store last year when 11 debt collectors showed up seeking payment from Ms. Su on a high-interest loan.

     The men grew increasingly violent toward Ms. Su, cornering her and her son in a back office. When one of the collectors, Du Zhihao, yelled insults and exposed his genitals, Mr. Yu responded by stabbing Mr. Du and several other men. Mr. Du later died in a hospital...

     Fu Hualing, a law professor at the University of Hong Kong, said the case had posed a predicament. On the one hand, officials may have been eager to show some sympathy for the harsh circumstances the defendant had faced. On the other, Professor Fu said, the government most likely wanted to signal that it would not tolerate violent acts... Click here to read full article.