The online teacher has passed away, disrupting class is also illegal.

Compiled from The Paper
 
Case review
Recently, a history teacher surnamed Liu from Xinzheng City No. 3 Middle School in Henan Province tragically passed away at home after teaching an online class. According to videos and images provided by Teacher Liu's family, during the online class, someone deliberately played harsh music in the livestream room, malicious threats were made by disruptors, and various offensive remarks were heard. Currently, the Xinzheng City Public Security Bureau, Education Bureau, and Cyberspace Administration have formed a joint investigation team, and the results will be announced to the public.

 

Online, the act of disrupting online classes is referred to as “online class bombing” or “online class raiding.” Participants of the online class leak the meeting ID and password, after which troublemakers organizedly “invade” the virtual classroom, maliciously disrupting the teaching order through extreme methods such as forcibly taking over the screen, flooding the chat with harassing messages, and even insulting teachers and students or playing inappropriate videos. The “invaders” are also known as “bombers.”
 
 
The [1] The People's Republic of China Criminal Law
Article 246 [Crime of Insult] [Crime of Defamation]
Whoever publicly insults another person by violence or other methods, or fabricates facts to defame another person, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, public surveillance, or deprivation of political rights.
The crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be handled only upon complaint, except where it seriously endangers social order or national interests.
Where an act prescribed in the first paragraph is committed through information networks, and the victim files a complaint with a people's court but has genuine difficulty in providing evidence, the people's court may request public security organs to provide assistance.
 
 
Article 293 [Crime of Picking Quarrels and Provoking Trouble]
Whoever commits any of the following acts of picking quarrels and provoking trouble, thereby disrupting social order, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention or public surveillance:
……
(4) Creating disturbances in public places, causing severe disorder in public places.
Whoever gathers others to repeatedly commit the acts mentioned in the preceding paragraph, seriously disrupting social order, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than five years but not more than ten years, and may also be fined.
 
 
Article 364: [Crime of Disseminating Obscene Materials; Crime of Organizing the Broadcasting of Obscene Audio-Visual Products]
Whoever disseminates obscene books, periodicals, films, audio-visual products, pictures, or other obscene materials, if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than two years, criminal detention, or public surveillance.
Whoever organizes the screening of obscene films, videotapes, or other audio-visual products shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or control, and shall also be fined; if the circumstances are serious, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years, and shall also be fined.
Producing or duplicating obscene films, videos, or other audiovisual materials for organized screening shall be punished more severely in accordance with the provisions of the second paragraph.
Disseminating obscene materials to minors under the age of 18 shall be punished more severely.

 
 

 
[1] The author's perspective
A teacher who was tirelessly dedicated to teaching passed away after such a violent online class, which we neither predicted nor can accept. Online classes, as a form of education during special times, should also maintain classroom discipline and comply with school regulations. However, some students, out of a disruptive mindset, made a ruckus in class. Perhaps they were young and ignorant, but disrupting classroom discipline is not only irresponsible for their own studies but also for other classmates. What these students may not have realized is that their constant verbal abuse toward the teacher might have already infringed upon the teacher's reputation and dignity. Such behavior is no longer just a joke but could constitute the crimes of insult and defamation under the Criminal Law.
 
Even worse, groups specifically helping students disrupt online classes have emerged, forming an industry chain. Students give them their online class account and password, and when class begins, these groups enter the classroom and cause trouble in various ways, such as making loud noises or playing inappropriate videos. This shows that such seemingly prank-like behavior actually violates multiple laws. According to relevant judicial interpretations, cyberspace is also considered a public place, so disrupting public order in an online classroom may also constitute the crime of picking quarrels and provoking trouble. But regardless of the specific crime it may ultimately constitute, children should study hard in class, and the consequences of this kind of “prank” are not something you can bear.