Li Shiming

Li Shiming (died September 23, 2008 ) was Party chief of Xiashuixi Village, which is located in Lüliang, Shanxi, China.

According to locals, he used his Communist party status to seize land, extort money, and constantly bully and harass the villagers, even using violence against villagers and their families. A local farmer, Zhang Huping, had been harassed by Shiming for years, and had been detained on fabricated charges after he and a group of farmers sought the help of the Provincial authorities after Shiming razed 28 acre of trees on their property without their permission or an offer of compensation.

Huping hired 19-year-old Zhang Xuping to kill Shiming for 1,000 Yuan. In September 2008, Xuping entered a school where Shiming was attending a meeting, and stabbed him in the chest. Shiming died whilst driving himself to hospital.

Xuping, who was subsequently charged with the killing and sentenced to death, gained the status of a folk hero locally, as Shiming was hated in the town. Many openly expressed sympathy for Xuping and hatred for Shiming. More than 20,000 people in China's Shanxi Province signed a petition requesting lenience for Xuping.