Picking quarrels and provoking trouble (Chinese: 寻衅滋事罪; pinyin: xúnxìn zīshì zuì), also translated as picking quarrels and stirring up trouble or picking quarrels and making trouble, is a criminal offense in the People's Republic of China.
The crime first appeared under Article 293 of the 1997 revision of the Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China, and has carried a maximum sentence of five years.
[1] The former offense of "hooliganism" was removed in the same revision of the criminal law.
[2] Article 293 says:[3] Anyone who commits any of the following acts of provocation and disturbing social order shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than five years, criminal detention, or public surveillance: Zhu Zhengfu, a delegate to the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and vice-chair of the All China Lawyers Association, said in 2022 that the law's "legal ambiguity breeds room for selective law enforcement, damages the public's legal interests and undermines judicial credibility."
[2] Critics have said the offense is ill-defined, arbitrarily applied and facilitates the abuse of state power.