Cyberbullying: How the search for birthparents ended in tragedy
A selfie photo of Liu Xuezhou posted on his Weibo account
Cyberbullying returned to the spotlight this week as Chinese judicial and administrative authorities took actions related to the suicide of a 17-year-old student.
The Beijing Internet Court conducted a hearing on Monday in a civil defamation case linked to the suicide of Liu Xuezhou. On the same day, Chinese authorities introduced a set of guidelines aimed at combating illegal and criminal cyber violence.
The story of Liu, who lived in Hebei Province, came first to light in late 2021 when he used the Internet to try to find his biological parents. He posted online that his birth parents had sold him to a human trafficker when he was 3 months old. He was raised by adoptive parents, who later died and left him to be taken in his adoptive grandparents.
Liu, a vocational student, claimed that he had to work several jobs to pay for his studies and was forced to live in a dilapidated house.
With some police assistance, the teenager managed to tracked down his birth parents in December 2021, discovering that they had divorced and remarried with new families.
However, their joyous reunion was short-lived. Soon after, his biological parents told Beijing News that Liu was trying pressure them into buying a house for him, which they claimed they could not afford. Liu, who denied the allegation, said his parents cut off all contact with him.
Then, some Chinese netizens called Liu a "scheming liar" and urged him to kill himself. At the forefront of the vitriol were online personalities who call themselves "True Words Brother" and "Warm-Hearted Sister."
A vaccination certificate held by Liu's foster grandparents helped him locate his biological parents.
In January 2022, Liu took an overdose of antidepressants. His body was discovered on a beach in south China's Hainan Province. In a lengthy suicide note posted on Weibo, Liu detailed how he had been bullied by classmates and sexually harassed by a teacher when he was young, only to be abandoned twice by his biological parents. He said he had seen enough of "the dark side of humanity" and "was too tired to live on."
His death caused an outpouring of concern from netizens, who blamed Internet trolls for driving Liu to suicide.
His foster grandparents filed a civil lawsuit against "True Words Brother" and "Warm-Hearted Sister." The court saw a viral video showing "True Words Brother," who has over a million followers, saying, "Liu Xuezhou, who was abandoned by his biological parents, actually abandoned his foster parents … in simple terms, he is not a good person."
According to Zhou Zhaocheng, the legal representative for Liu's foster grandparents, the accusation triggered over 2,000 cyberbullying comments directed at Liu's Weibo account shortly before his suicide.
The family's objective is not financial compensation, Zhou said, but rather to raise public awareness about cyberbullying and to hold the persecutors accountable.
During the court hearing on Monday, both defendants argued that they had not fabricated any facts, but rather had quoted information from other sources.
Zhou said Liu had stated on his social media account that the information the duo quoted was false.
Zhu Wei, deputy director of the Communication Law Research Center of China University of Political Science and Law, told the media that influential online figures have a duty to fact-check before making conclusive statements.
Professor Shen Liang from the East China University of Political Science and Law noted that defamation charges are particularly relevant in this context.
Allegations of Liu's abandoning his adoptive parents and seeking financial assistance from his biological mother, if proven false, could amount to serious defamation, Shen said.
Lawyer Zhou told the court that on the day Liu died, several online accounts deleted videos to destroy evidence and evade legal consequences.
The court adjourned without setting a date for a verdict.
Following the hearing, the Supreme People's Court, the Supreme People's Procuratorate and the Ministry of Public Security jointly released new guidelines on cyberbullying, emphasizing the need for stronger penalties for individuals who incite, organize or participate in cyber violence.
The guidelines also specify situations where courts should support victims of cyber violence who seek civil damages from perpetrators.
"In this digital age, once news spreads online, its impact on victims can be immense, so strict regulation of information that provokes violence is essential," said Professor Shen.
