Can't Let Those Who Help the Weak and Small Be Wronged

I've been following the case of lawyer Gao Bingfang, who was involved in a suspected false lawsuit while trying to help migrant workers get their wages. A friend asked me to comment on it, but I haven't had the right opportunity until now. Today, lawyer Zhang Xinyan revealed that "after being entrusted by the Supreme Court, the comrades from the Shandong Provincial High People's Court sacrificed their weekend rest time, and under the leadership of President Huo Min, many high court staff members went to the Daiyue District Court early in the morning to study the problems existing in the case of lawyer Gao Bingfang." This case, after being argued by the lawyer and fermented by the media, finally caught the attention of the Supreme Court. It seems that this case can now be handled fairly and justly. At this time, expressing my personal opinion will not interfere with the judicial organs' handling of the case.

(The content of lawyer Zhang Xinyan's Weibo)

Gao Bingfang is the director and full-time lawyer of a law firm in Shandong. Her suspected false lawsuit case originated from a layered subcontracting engineering project. In 2017, Tai'an Tai'an City Construction Development Co., Ltd. contracted the project to Tai'an City Zhoujiazhuang Construction and Installation Engineering Co., Ltd., which then subcontracted the entire project to Zhao, who had no construction qualifications. Later, Zhao subcontracted part of the project to Mi, who then subcontracted part of the project to Chen. Chen hired migrant workers to construct the project. In July 2018, the project was completed. Because Zhao was unable to pay the engineering fees and was involved in other cases and arrested, Mi and Chen organized migrant workers to go to the Tai'an Construction Company's arrears office to reflect on the situation several times. In April 2019, after being introduced by the staff of the arrears office, lawyer Gao Bingfang intervened in the case.

I. Opinions of the Prosecution and Defense

The prosecution alleged that in October 2019, defendants Gao Bingfang, Mi, and Chen conspired to fabricate the fact that 75 migrant workers had not been paid for their labor services after working for Chen, and their actions constituted the crime of false lawsuit.

During the first trial on November 12, 2023, the prosecution suggested that Gao Bingfang be sentenced to three to seven years in prison, while Mi and Chen be given suspended sentences. Gao Bingfang insisted that the case did not constitute a crime and that she had not known about it beforehand. Mi and Chen did not understand the law and were afraid of being held responsible for framing themselves.

The case of lawyer Gao Bingfang's suspected false lawsuit was publicly tried for the third time in the Daiyue District Court of Tai'an, Shandong, on the morning of April 18 this year. During the trial, defendant Gao Bingfang denied the allegations of false lawsuit, and her defense lawyer also made a plea of not guilty. The focus of the prosecution and defense was whether Gao Bingfang had known that the subcontractor had already paid the migrant workers' labor fees before proceeding with the lawsuit. The other aspect was whether the nature of the entire case constituted a criminal offense of false lawsuit.

During this trial, defense lawyer Zhang Xinyan questioned the court for not notifying him of the trial three days in advance. The presiding judge then arranged for the court police to take Zhang Xinyan away from the courtroom. Another defense lawyer, Liu Lu, immediately applied for the presiding judge to recuse himself, but the application was rejected by the presiding judge. The presiding judge's actions immediately sparked widespread discussion, causing the case of lawyer Gao Bingfang to attract even more online attention.

II. What is False Lawsuit

False lawsuit refers to the act of initiating a civil lawsuit with fabricated facts, which undermines the judicial order or seriously infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of others.

The objective aspect of false lawsuit is the act of initiating a civil lawsuit with fabricated facts, which undermines the judicial order or seriously infringes on the legitimate rights and interests of others. Fabricating facts must be a behavior of "creating something out of nothing," which means that the perpetrator fabricates non-existent legal relationships or facts.

False lawsuit behavior seriously undermines judicial justice and order, damaging the legitimate rights and interests of others. The law punishes false lawsuit behavior to maintain the justice and authority of the judiciary.

III. Does Lawyer Gao Bingfang's Behavior Constitute False Lawsuit?

Whether lawyer Gao Bingfang's behavior constitutes false lawsuit must be analyzed based on the detailed facts and evidence of the case. I have not seen the case files and cannot conduct an accurate analysis, but I can provide two perspectives for reference.

(I) Look at the Labor Fees of Migrant Workers from the Perspective of the Subcontractor

Here, I forward a post from a subcontractor who is most familiar with the inside story of the project's subcontracting. He angrily said, "Those who support false lawsuits, please shut up!" He revealed the main inside story and facts:

The contract signed between the subcontractor and the sub-subcontractor can only be a labor contract and does not qualify as an engineering subcontract!

The sub-subcontractor owes labor fees, not engineering fees!

When the subcontractor settles with the sub-subcontractor, they must provide a payroll and employment contract, and the sub-subcontractor can only pay the labor fees into the bank accounts of the migrant workers!

If the sub-subcontractor fails to pay the labor fees, the subcontractor can only sue for the labor fees in the form of wages!

If the subcontractor pays the migrant workers' wages in advance without the sub-subcontractor paying the labor fees, it is a kind and selfless act. Those who do not have the ability to pay in advance can only bring the migrant workers to demand labor fees together!

Therefore, from the perspective of the subcontractor, if the sub-subcontractor does not pay the labor fees, the migrant workers' labor fees have not been legally paid. The subcontractor's advance payment is just a kind and selfless act, or they are afraid of being involved in malicious debt collection or disturbing the peace. So, they pay the migrant workers' labor fees in advance. After paying, they naturally have the right to substitute and sue. Although it's not quite right to sue in the name of the migrant workers, the fact of owed wages is objective. Where is the false lawsuit?

If the subcontractor does not constitute false lawsuit, then lawyer Gao Bingfang, who helped the subcontractor with the lawsuit, naturally does not constitute false lawsuit either.

(II) From the Perspective of Simple Justice

The subcontractor asked in puzzlement, if this leads to a judgment that lawyer Gao is guilty of false lawsuit, can the sub-subcontractor not pay the labor fees and legally embezzle the labor fees?

Many people care about how the court will answer this question. Lawyer Wang Cailiang from Beijing rushed to the Daiyue District Court of Tai'an, Shandong, to prepare for the third trial of lawyer Gao Bingfang. Unfortunately, the local court's "public trial" method is very clever, and people were arranged to "occupy the position," leaving only four places for family members. Moreover, there was no place to raise opinions, and "don't look at me as an old lawyer, I couldn't get in to observe, and it was ineffective to negotiate with the court." Therefore, lawyer Wang Cailiang shouted, "The debtor is above the law, and the person seeking debt is put in prison. Is this in line with heavenly principles, national law, and human emotions?"

In fact, discussing whether lawyer Gao Bingfang's behavior constitutes a crime does not require much profound legal knowledge, just common sense and a sense of justice.

Non-legal professionals all understand that since the law clearly stipulates that migrant workers' wages cannot be paid to the subcontractor and can only be paid directly to the migrant workers, what's wrong with the subcontractor paying the migrant workers' wages in advance and then suing in the name of the migrant workers? Shouldn't the subcontractor's advance payment be claimed from the sub-subcontractor? Is it reasonable to arrest the subcontractor's agent, lawyer Gao Bingfang?

A netizen asked in an article titled "The follow-up to the female lawyer being arrested for helping migrant workers get their wages, the debtor's carnival, and the melancholy of the just": "Shouldn't she sue the sub-subcontractor in the name of the subcontractor? Just because of the difference in wording, she should be sentenced?"

If lawyer Gao is sentenced, it's likely that in the future, no just person will be willing to stand up for migrant workers, as good deeds will not be rewarded, and it will truly be heartbreaking for people.

Human society should have true feelings, and the law should have temperature. Today, I want to shout out for lawyer Gao Bingfang, who helped migrant workers get their wages:

Can't Let Those Who Help the Weak and Small Be Wronged!