If you stumble upon a group fight, walk away immediately — don’t try to break it up, don’t stand around watching, and don’t pick up any weapons on the ground. If you want to call the police, retreat to a safe distance and dial 110

No money is required. The hard part is resisting the urge to step in and the temptation to watch from the sidelines. After calling, you might be asked to give a statement later; at most, this takes half a day.

Article 292 of the Criminal Law of China: "Whoever organizes a crowd to engage in fighting shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not more than three years, criminal detention, or control for the ringleader and other active participants." For repeated group fighting; fighting involving many people on a large scale with a severe adverse social impact; fighting that seriously disrupts public order in public places or on major thoroughfares; or fighting with weapons, "shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years." "Where group fighting results in serious injury or death," the perpetrators shall be convicted and punished according to the crimes of intentional injury or intentional homicide. The Law on Public Security Administration Punishments also contains penalties. For assaulting others, detention for 5 to 10 days and a fine of 500 to 1,000 yuan shall be imposed. Group fighting will be handled as picking quarrels and provoking trouble, with a maximum detention of 15 days and a fine of 2,000 yuan. Article 5 of the "Guiding Opinions on the Lawful Application of the System of Justifiable Defense": "Unlawful infringement includes not only unlawful infringement against oneself, but also unlawful infringement against the state, public interests, or others." Article 9 of the same Opinion states that if one party initiates the fight and uses clearly excessive means, the retaliating party shall generally be identified as performing a defensive act. This also applies if one party initiates the fight and continues the infringement even when the other party is making efforts to avoid conflict.

全国人大 (1997). 刑法（第二百三十二、二百三十四、二百九十二、三百零五、三百一十条）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/201802/t20180206_364975.shtml；全国人大常委会 (2025). 治安管理处罚法（2025 年修订，第三十、五十一条）. https://www.spp.gov.cn/spp/fl/202506/t20250627_699863.shtml；最高人民法院、最高人民检察院、公安部 (2020). 关于依法适用正当防卫制度的指导意见（法发〔2020〕31 号，第 5、9 条）. https://www.court.gov.cn/zixun/xiangqing/251611.html；全国人大 (2018). 刑事诉讼法（2018 年修订，第六十二、一百一十、一百一十一、一百九十三条）. 宁夏回族自治区人民检察院转载全文 https://www.nx.jcy.gov.cn/zwsy/qwfb/202011/t20201119_608817.html

Classifying this as 'Type B' is because one half of the consequences is based on hard legal provisions, but the step of "stepping back, calling the police, and not physically intervening to break up the fight" does not exist in the official original text; it is inferred from the provisions and the determination of "how mutual fighting is identified." Saying "I came to break up the fight" is not a protective talisman; the determination depends on whether you moved your hands and whom you hit. If the opponent has already fallen or fled and you still chase them to hit them, it will no longer be considered defense. If you see someone being surrounded and unilaterally beaten, you can indeed intervene legally. Justifiable defense protects not only yourself but also others. However, stepping in empty-handed will mostly just add another injured person to the count. Calling for help, recording from a distance, and calling the police are more effective. "Not intervening physically and not spectating" is only beneficial to you. The benefit of calling 110 mainly falls on the person on the ground, who belongs to the lowest tier of beneficiaries in this book; whether you are willing to spend this time is for you to weigh. Before weighing, you must know a few things. The obligation to testify already exists: Article 62 of the Criminal Procedure Law specifies that anyone who knows the circumstances of a case has an obligation to testify; this obligation does not disappear just because you do not make this call. If there are serious injuries or loss of life, the police will find those present by reviewing surveillance footage anyway; standing around spectating actually makes it easiest to be registered. If the informant does not wish to disclose their name, the handling authorities "shall keep their secret" (Article 111). You can hang up after clarifying the location, the number of people, and whether weapons are present; there is no need to remain on the scene. Those who are subject to an admonition or detention of up to ten days are those whom the court notifies to appear in court, yet you fail to provide a legitimate reason and refuse to testify (Article 193). Passersby rarely reach this stage. Not calling the police is not illegal in itself: the phrase "have the right as well as the obligation" in Article 110 of the Criminal Procedure Law carries no penalty. There is also no crime in the Criminal Law for an ordinary person failing to report known information; walking away is a legal option. There are only two red lines after walking away. First, helping to hide a person or providing false testimony to cover up a crime after the fact (Article 310 of the Criminal Law, up to 3 years, or 3 to 10 years in serious cases). Second, intentionally providing false testimony when called to testify (Article 305, up to 3 years, or 3 to 7 years in serious cases). Silence and telling the truth are both fine; making up stories is where the trouble lies. For being involved in a conflict yourself, see Section 8, Item 10; for being extorted by a stranger, see this section, Item 36; for injuries sustained while saving others, see this section, Item 39.