[2] —Quanjian Group, Shu Yuhui, and others still have legitimate rights and interests protected by law

Recently, the Quanjian Group, which has been widely discussed in society, has been placed under criminal investigation by public security authorities on suspicion of pyramid schemes and other crimes. Its actual controller, Shu Yuhui, and 18 others have been criminally detained. A few days ago, someone reported that a lawyer from a Beijing law firm revealed to the media, "People from Quanjian came to me, saying they were willing to pay a high fee for us to get Shu Yuhui released on bail pending trial, or even to mount a defense of innocence. No one in our firm would take their case." Former CCTV reporter and well-known online influencer Wang Zhian recently commented on this on his personal Weibo, saying, "If I were a lawyer, I would first take the one million, then through clever defense, make Shu Yuhui's crimes even worse."

Anyone who has taken the legal qualification exam knows that determining whether an act constitutes robbery, snatching, fraud, or theft has always been a key and difficult point. In economic cases, the boundary between crime and non-crime is much more blurred than in other criminal offenses like murder or arson. People are greedy, and criminal suspects and their families always hold hope for the outcome of the case. Otherwise, why would they hire lawyers, famous lawyers, spend a lot of money on famous lawyers, hire two, or even a group of famous lawyers and legal scholars to hold case seminars? Lawyers have the right to decide whether to accept a commission and to terminate an accepted commission under legal circumstances, but they must never treat a client's request for "bail pending trial or defense of innocence" as a joke to be leaked to the media. Moreover, based on the lawyer's statement, it is easy for ordinary people to develop the mistaken belief that "bad people should not have the right to defense." On a larger scale, this is detrimental to the rule of law; on a smaller scale, isn't it just smashing the industry's rice bowl by self-promotion?

Furthermore, the Quanjian case has just entered the investigation phase, and many facts are still unclear. The official notice only uses terms like "suspected" and "suspect." Even if Quanjian and Shu Yuhui are guilty, are the other 17 people also "organizers and leaders"? Do they also constitute the crime of "organizing and leading pyramid schemes"? Liu Zhonglin, Nie Shubin, and Hu Gejiletu all had wrongful convictions after first and second trials, even capital cases. The Quanjian case doesn't even have an indictment yet, so how can it be said that lawyers cannot, should not, or will not take the case due to excessive expectations or heinousness?

The Weibo post by "online influencer" Wang Zhian

Wang Zhian said, "If I were a lawyer, I would do this and that." If he were actually a lawyer and did this, he would directly violate Article 40 of the Lawyers Law, and revoking his lawyer's license would be a certainty. Even just for making this statement in the media, a lawyer would have their membership rights suspended for a year. Without even applying the professional ethics of lawyers to Wang Zhian, the General Principles of Civil Law clearly state, "If an agent fails to perform or fully perform their duties, causing damage to the principal, they shall bear civil liability." Even from a moral standpoint, chivalrous people understand "entrusted by others, loyal to their affairs," and bandits and killers know "take people's money, eliminate their disasters." You can choose not to take the case, but to first trick someone into paying and entrusting you, then use your professional knowledge to harm the client, and finally use morality to whitewash yourself—even if you're not a lawyer, this behavior can be called "wanting to be both a prostitute and build a chastity arch."

The author searched online for Wang Zhian's resume and found that he has a bachelor's degree from Wuhan University's Department of Political Education and a master's degree from Peking University's Department of History—fortunately, he was not trained by the law schools of these two prestigious universities, otherwise, it would truly be a disgrace to mainland legal education and the legal profession. The author strongly suggests that the law schools of Wang Zhian's two alma maters and the All-China Lawyers Association issue a statement denouncing his "If I were a lawyer, I would do this and that" remarks, clearly stating that "lawyers would never do this"! We must not let an outsider destroy the hard-won, and already fragile, trust of clients in the legal profession!

Regarding the Quanjian case, lawyers from Zhiming Law Firm can confidently state: if the Quanjian Group, Shu Yuhui, and the other 18 individuals were fortunate enough to consult with Zhiming lawyers, and in compliance with legal procedures, Zhiming lawyers would still provide legal assistance to protect their legitimate rights and interests.

Finally, I conclude this article with a quote from Wang Zhian's old principal, Hu Shi, hoping it can help all lawyers, when defending suspects with "conclusive evidence and heinous crimes" and facing insults, threats, or even suppression, to encourage themselves—fighting for your personal freedom is fighting for the nation's freedom! Fighting for your own dignity is fighting for the nation's dignity!