By reporter You Chunliang -- The chairman of a listed company in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province, after beating a female lawyer, published remarks on a local media outlet such as "Agent lawyers often use the law as a weapon to extort companies everywhere, causing businesses unbearable suffering", and "In my eyes, this behavior of lawyers is like that of compradors in the past who come to 'collect debts'." These statements by the company's president have caused strong reactions from many legal professionals in Shenzhen.
Recently, the Shenzhen Lawyers Association held an emergency expanded meeting of the president to condemn the inaccurate remarks that harm the image of the legal profession, and believed that this chairman has constituted an infringement, reserving the right to take legal action. The family of the beaten lawyer also stated that they would not rule out suing the chairman for defamation.
The chairman and the lawyer had a verbal disagreement that escalated into physical conflict.
We learned that the incident was due to lawyer Liao AiMin from Beijing Jingshi (Shenzhen) Law Firm, who was commissioned by the International Business Software Alliance to represent Adobe in suing the listed company Shenzhen ZQ Interactive Network Co., Ltd. for infringing on its computer software copyright. The Intermediate People's Court of Shenzhen has accepted the case on November 1st.
On November 23rd, the staff of the Intermediate People's Court of Shenzhen delivered the lawsuit regarding computer software copyright infringement filed by Adobe and Autodesk to ZQ Interactive Network. The lawsuit claimed that ZQ Interactive Network had infringed upon their computer software copyrights, demanding compensation of RMB 2 million each, totaling RMB 4 million. On the afternoon of November 25th, at the Starbucks in Nanshan Science and Technology Park in Shenzhen, Chairman Li Ruijie of ZQ Interactive Network discussed the matter with Liao AiMin. Due to differing opinions and heated words, the discussion turned into physical conflict, resulting in Liao AiMin being hospitalized due to injuries.
Subsequently, someone revealed online that during the incident, Li Ruijie used a chair to injure Liao AiMin's head. This drew attention from the legal community in Shenzhen.
On December 8th, ZQ Interactive Network issued a statement saying they had reached a settlement with lawyer Liao AiMin who was injured in the incident. On December 9th, Li Ruijie posted online expressing regret for his impulsiveness at the time, stating he harbored no ill will towards lawyer Liao AiMin and wished her a speedy recovery.
However, the controversy surrounding this incident did not subside.
During a media interview with Li Ruijie on December 15th, when asked about the "female lawyer beating incident," Li Ruijie made remarks such as "Agent lawyers often wield the law as a weapon, extorting companies everywhere, causing them unbearable suffering" and "In my eyes, this behavior of lawyers is akin to that of foreign compradors in the past who come to 'collect debts'."
Li Ruijie's words and actions sparked dissatisfaction among Shenzhen lawyers. On December 16th, the Shenzhen Lawyers Association held an emergency expanded meeting of the president and responded to the matter on the Shenzhen Lawyers website. The Shenzhen Lawyers Association condemned the inaccurate remarks that harmed the image of the legal profession and expressed deep indignation over the disregard for the law shown by the chairman of the listed company.
News spokesperson Li Zhiqiang of the Shenzhen Lawyers Association said in an interview with the Legal Daily that the legal profession is a very important component of socialist rule of law construction. Lawyers promote fairness and justice throughout society by safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of individual cases through agency work. Respecting lawyers is a significant feature of a rule-of-law society. As the chairman of a listed company, Li Ruijie resorted to violent behavior against the opposing party's lawyer and after reaching a settlement, instead of repenting, continued to attack the entire legal profession with derogatory language, damaging the image of the legal profession and constituting an infringement.
Li Zhiqiang said: "The Shenzhen Lawyers Association strongly condemns the words and actions of Li Ruijie. If Li Ruijie continues to ignore advice, we will reserve the right to take legal action."
It was learned that the International Business Software Alliance issued a statement on December 17th condemning the behavior of ZQ Interactive Network as both illegal and immoral. Chairman Li Ruijie's remarks distorted the essence of ZQ Interactive Network's software infringement case and the fact that he violently assaulted commercial software alliance agent lawyer Liao AiMin.
Legal professionals believe that those who resort to violence urgently need a lesson in legal education.
The incident where the president of a listed company beat a lawyer and made inappropriate remarks has sparked heated discussions among local legal professionals.
Guangdong lawyer Pan Xiang believes that the words and actions of ZQ Interactive Network's chairman Li Ruijie can be described as "adding insult to injury."
"Due to an intellectual property dispute, Li Ruijie physically assaulted female lawyer Liao AiMin representing the plaintiff International Business Software Alliance. After both parties reached a settlement, Li Ruijie's 'personal testimony' was akin to sprinkling salt on the wounds of the opposing party. This time, he not only attacked lawyer Liao but also all lawyers, harming the entire industry and even the construction of a rule-of-law society," Pan Xiang said.
It was learned that after Liao AiMin was beaten, the Shenzhen Bar Association's Rights Protection Committee immediately followed up and repeatedly expressed their position to the police. Lin Changzhi, director of the Shenzhen Bar Association's Rights Protection Committee, stated that the incident where lawyer Liao AiMin was beaten is a rare violation of lawyers' professional rights and a threat to lawyers' personal safety this year, with a despicable nature. As an entrepreneur, Li Ruijie should set an example in abiding by national laws and regulations and fulfilling social responsibilities, but his words and actions are contrary to this. Moreover, China has been a member of the WTO for more than ten years, and Chinese and foreign enterprises in China are equally protected by law. It is unacceptable to discriminate against foreign-invested enterprises and foreign enterprises with a narrow-minded perspective.
As a lawyer and member of the Shenzhen Municipal Committee of the CPPCC, Cui Jun said that he was deeply shocked by the president of the listed company's indifferent legal awareness. This lesson could not help him make up for his lack of legal education, and this issue should be worth deep reflection by the whole society.
Cui Jun believed that Shenzhen has always valued scientific and technological innovation, ranking first in the country in terms of patent application numbers, and PCT international patent applications also rank first nationwide. A lot of work has been done in protecting intellectual property rights, but from the series of events triggered by the intellectual property dispute involving the president of ZQ Interactive Network, it shows that Shenzhen's intellectual property publicity and legal education work still has a long way to go. "We must protect our own intellectual property rights while also valuing others' achievements; otherwise, it will affect Shenzhen's overall investment environment."
Cui Jun further believed that ZQ Interactive Network is a listed company, and the securities regulatory department should strengthen the management of listed companies regarding this matter. "Not only should the corporate governance structure be managed, but the responsible persons of listed companies should also be educated on intellectual property rights and legal knowledge. How can the heads of high-tech enterprises talk about scientific and technological innovation and going global if they show such contempt for the law?"
Huang Yaying, Dean of the School of Law at Shenzhen University, believed that any defense by Li Ruijie would not benefit him at all. "His reckless talk is accelerating his disadvantageous situation; it is far from showing repentance."
Huang Yaying stated, "Once the settlement agreement is signed, it takes effect immediately and has legal force. His talkative criticism of the voluntary behavior of both parties actually shows disrespect for the law. His words and actions cause great damage to the public image of the listed company, and he should reflect deeply rather than painting himself into a corner and making things hard to explain."
National Committee Member of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and President of the All-China Lawyers Association, Yu Ning, indicated that Document No. 30 of 2010 clearly pointed out that the lawyer system is an important part of the socialist judicial system with Chinese characteristics. Lawyers are legal workers; they practice according to the law, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the parties involved, which is a demonstration of their adherence to professional standards and ethics. Society should understand their work. If a lawyer behaves improperly, relevant parties can fully file complaints or report the lawyer legally. "In this incident, the excessive words and actions of the person who resorted to violence were very inappropriate and provided no help in solving the problem. Moreover, since it happened after the settlement, it seems superfluous and not magnanimous."
Family of the female lawyer beaten does not rule out suing the attacker for defamation.
Recently, Liao AiMin's younger sister broke her silence and spoke for the first time to express the family's stance: "If the attacker continues to distort facts and maliciously attack the victim in violation of the settlement agreement, we will consider pursuing his legal responsibility."
It was learned that after Liao AiMin was beaten, she received six stitches on her head. Her family, fearing harassment, transferred her early the next day from Nan Shan Hospital in Shenzhen to the Guangdong Public Security Frontier Corps General Hospital for treatment. The attending doctor wrote in the diagnosis certificate on the fifth day after Liao AiMin was beaten: concussion; scalp laceration; multiple soft tissue injuries all over the body.
On December 6th, the investigating officer brought a "minor injury" appraisal report to find Liao AiMin and her family. The family believed the appraisal did not match the actual injuries and requested a re-appraisal. That night, under the persuasion of multiple departments and relevant leaders, Liao AiMin's family accepted the suggestion of reconciliation. Both parties signed the reconciliation agreement, promising not to publicly discuss the matter in the media afterward.
Since "not talking" is one of the terms of the reconciliation agreement, Li Ruijie's reversal of his promise made Liao AiMin's family extremely angry.
"He overturned all the legal facts with witnesses and evidence, which is a contempt for the law," said Liao AiMin's younger sister. "Li Ruijie fabricated facts and defamed my sister's 20-year lawyer career. We do not rule out suing Li Ruijie for defamation."