Article 20 (2024) Timeline Explained – Every Event in Order

Article 20 of Chinese criminal law defines the boundaries of legitimate self-defense. It states that defensive actions taken to stop ongoing illegal infringements on personal or property rights do not constitute criminal behavior. Han Ming argues that all the defendants in his cases, Zhang Guisheng who fought hooligans, Hao Xiuping's husband who killed the rapist, and even his own wife who attacked the principal, acted to protect themselves or others from real threats, making their actions legally justified self-defense rather than crimes.

• article 20
• self-defense
• chinese criminal law
• legal defense

Zhang Guisheng, a former bus driver, was fired years earlier for defending a woman against hooligans who harassed her on his bus. He planned to travel to Beijing to appeal his dismissal and seek justice. While on his way to the train station, he was struck by a high-speed truck and killed. The accident appears suspicious given its timing, just as he was pursuing legal action, but the film presents it as a tragic coincidence that intensifies Han Ming's resolve to pursue justice.

Foreshadowing: Earlier scenes show Guisheng's determination to fight his wrongful termination, foreshadowing his fateful journey.

• zhang guisheng
• death
• bus driver
• beijing appeal

Hao Xiuping is a deaf woman who was raped. Her husband was jailed for killing the rapist in retaliation, leaving her alone and vulnerable. The rapist's accomplices continuously harassed her and pressured her to sign a document dropping the charges. Fearful for her husband's safety and her child's future, and feeling utterly trapped by the system, she desperately jumps from the top floor of a construction site to escape the relentless intimidation.

• hao xiuping
• rape
• suicide
• harassment
• construction site

Li Maojuan attacks the principal because the principal sued her son Han Yuchen's family after Yuchen broke the principal's son's nose during a fight. The principal's son had been beating another classmate, and Yuchen intervened to stop it. When the principal responded by taking legal action against Yuchen's parents, Maojuan's maternal anger escalated to physical violence against the principal, resulting in her own arrest.

• li maojuan
• principal
• assault
• arrest
• school fight

Han Yuchen refuses to apologize because he believes he was justified in his actions. He witnessed the principal's son brutally beating a classmate and intervened to stop the assault, breaking the boy's nose in the process. From his perspective, he acted heroically to protect another student, not as a aggressor. His refusal to apologize stems from his belief that he should not be punished for standing up to bullying.

• han yuchen
• principal's son
• apology
• school fight
• bullying

All the cases connect through the legal principle of Article 20, self-defense. Zhang Guisheng defended a woman against hooligans, Hao Xiuping's husband killed a rapist who attacked his wife, Han Yuchen intervened against a bully, and Li Maojuan attacked the principal in anger. Han Ming realizes each person acted defensively against real threats, and he argues in court that these should all be recognized as legitimate self-defense under Chinese law, not criminal offenses.

• cases connection
• self-defense
• article 20
• legal argument

Han Ming decides to drop all charges because he believes the defendants acted in legitimate self-defense rather than criminal intent. Throughout the film, he witnesses ordinary people, Zhang Guisheng, Hao Xiuping's husband, his own wife and son, facing real threats and responding with force to protect themselves or others. He concludes that prosecuting them would be unjust, and he risks his career to argue this interpretation of Article 20 in court.

Foreshadowing: The film shows Han Ming struggling with the tension between procedural duty and moral fairness throughout, building to his bold courtroom decision.

• han ming
• drop charges
• courtroom
• justice
• article 20

Han Ming frequently talks to and travels with Lu Lingling, a former college girlfriend who now works at the same prosecutor's office. Their close, familiar interactions, meeting during work trips and spending time together, lead his wife Li Maojuan to suspect they are having an affair. The proximity and history between Han Ming and Lu Lingling create marital tension that adds to Han Ming's personal difficulties.

• lu lingling
• han ming
• infidelity
• suspicion
• marriage

Zhang Guisheng was fired from his job as a bus driver for defending a woman passengers against hooligans who were harassing her on the bus. While protecting the passenger, he confronted the troublemakers, which apparently violated company policy. He was terminated for this act of defending a passenger, and he spent years trying to appeal his case, eventually planning to travel to Beijing to seek higher-level justice.

• zhang guisheng
• fired
• bus driver
• hooligans
• defense

In the climactic courtroom scene, Han Ming delivers an impassioned argument citing Article 20 of Chinese criminal law, claiming all defendants acted in legitimate self-defense. The court accepts his interpretation, and all defendants are freed from charges. The courtroom erupts in applause as justice is served according to Han Ming's broader understanding of fairness, recognizing that those who fought back against real threats should not be punished as criminals.

• ending
• freed
• courtroom
• applause
• defendants