"Once, my work with the Drivers’ Alliance landed me in a detention center. It was leading up to the 2019 “Double Eleven” shopping holiday, and both Ele.me and Meituan — China’s two biggest food-delivery platforms — were slashing our per-order rates. Drivers were frustrated, and I sent a message to one of my chat groups suggesting we pick a district and jointly refuse to make any deliveries there: The first three days, we wouldn’t take any Meituan orders; the next three, we wouldn’t take any Ele.me orders. We would all put notes on the back of our mopeds saying what we were doing and why. I figured that way we could raise public awareness for our cause and get the platforms to pay attention.

The fliers weren’t even passed out when the police found me. I spent 26 days in criminal detention, far more than I ever expected. Luckily our protest hadn’t actually taken place yet, and it hadn’t caused any real-world impact or damage. If it had, I probably wouldn’t be talking with you today."