The Chinese MeToo Movement Rebecca Miller, ’23

4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6 Ibid. 7 Ibid. 8 Washington Post Staff, “Takeaways from the Pegasus Project,” The Washington Post, WP Company, February 2, 2022, https:// www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2021/07/18/takeaways-nso-pegasus-project/. 9 Mekhennet, Priest, and Timberg. 10 Steven Feldstein, “Governments Are Using Spyware on Citizens. Can They be Stopped?,” Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, July 21, 2021, https://carnegieendowment. org/2021/07/21/governments-are-using-spyware-on-citizens.-canthey-be-stopped-pub-85019. 11 Feldstein. 12 Ibid.

The Chinese MeToo Movement

Rebecca Miller, ’23

China is known for censorship and repression. Though this might partially be because of Western propaganda, it is true that the Chinese government keeps a tight grasp on the spread of information and ideas in its public. Yet somehow, a revolutionary campaign has ignited in China. The MeToo movement has gained traction and publicity. Workplace gender discrimination is a huge issue everywhere, and the American MeToo movement sparked a hardly-seen-before global discussion of sexual harassment. Though the Chinese MeToo movement was inspired by America’s, it is more impressive because of its battle to improve conditions for all women and its persistence in the face of government opposition.

American celebrities kickstarted the #MeToo movement, triggering a conversation that swept the world, including China. In October of 2017, actress Alyssa Milano posted the tweet heard round the world. Many other celebrities responded to her tweet with the now-iconic “Me too.” The American MeToo movement was powered by celebrities, focused on exposing and disempowering powerful men. Men like Harvey Weinstein, who for years were untouchable, finally faced consequences for their actions, spreading hope for victims of sexual harassment and panic among the good old boys. These public takedowns, with famous personalities on either side of the equation, were huge news stories. The American MeToo movement gained so much fame and attention that it began similar phenomena in other countries. A worldwide discussion about sexual harassment began. China was one of the slower countries to respond, but inevitably the global revolution took hold there. “I think those [American] actors were so brave,” said Zheng Xi, who led a public campaign against sexual harassment.1 Because of Chinese policy and censorship, the Chinese MeToo movement fielded support from like-minded activists in other countries that have freer speech.2 The American and international campaigns were what led to the creation of the Chinese MeToo movement.

The Chinese MeToo movement is less celebrity-driven and more policy-focussed than its American progenitor, making material differences in the legal rights of all women in China. The Chinese movement is fuelled by a faceless mass of women rather than celebrities. Its central focus is the experience of all women in China rather than telling individual stories. The campaign is all about actual policy change and legal recourse for victims of sexual harassment. One of its greatest early triumphs was the civil code defining sexual harassment for the first time. In 2018 a grassroots movement began when student Luo Xixi, assisted by journalist Huang Xueqin, accused her Beihang University professor of sexual assault. The university fired the professor after an investigation on the grounds that he violated professional ethics3. Inspired, many other women began to speak out online, particularly about sexual assault on college campuses. The conversation spread to how all women were treated in the workplace, and a widespread public discussion

of gender discrimination in China, including many social media threads.4 A study showed that eighty percent of women in China experienced some form of sexual harassment. Huang Xueqin, one of the leading figures in the Chinese MeToo movement, herself was sexually assualted in 2012 and guilt at her own silence drove her to stand up for other women.5 Countless women such as Liu Jingyaou, a student at the Unversity of Minnesota who sued billionaire Liu Qiangdong for sexual assault, battled in court. One of the most high profile cases involved Zhou Xiaoxuan, a screenwriter who took legal action against famed state media anchor Zhu Jun. Both held their ground and refused to sign NDAs or settle for money. Liu Li accused her social worker boss of sexual harassment, and faced severe slander and slut-shaming from people who had never even met her. Nevertheless, in June 2019, a court ruled in her favor and forced her boss to issue a public apology.6 Thus, the movement gradually gained momentum and consequences for sexual harassment slowly became more normalized, and the experience of women in China improved bit by bit.

The Chinese MeToo movement is all the more inspiring for the severe censorship and backlash it has faced from the government. The Chinese government does not allow collective actions, leaving the activists unable to gather and protest. The movement spread through social media, stymying government censorship. MeToo related search phrases were banned, so people coded hashtags in emojis and other clever workarounds. The phrase “Mi Tu” which literally means “rice bunny” was widely used to refer to “Me Too” and cleverly eluded censors.7 Weibo, a Chinese social media platform, suspended the accounts of many MeToo activists and organizations. Influencers attempted to impugn the movement with baseless allegations of being anti-Chinese foreign interference. Zhou Xiaoxuan, who initially received support for coming forward about Zhu Jun’s predatory actions, was sent horrible private messages on Weibo telling her to “Get out of China” and calling her “toilet paper [that] foreigners use and then throw away.”8 It was so bad that she had to shut down her public accounts. The harassment was not limited to the online sphere- she was also booed and followed in public.9 The Chinese government goes as far as to arrest activists. In 2015, five feminist activists were detained for conspiring to pass out stickers about sexual harassment on public tranportation.10 Huang Xueqin was detained for nine months in 2019 with no explanation.11 Then in September of 2021, Huang and another MeToo supporter, Wang Jiangbing, were arrested and charged with subversion of state power. Neither have yet reappeared. Peng Shuai, a tennis star who accused a Chinese government official of sexual assault, was disappeared in November 2019 and gained international attention. When she finally suddenly returned, she mysteriously took back all of her previous allegations.12 But despite this systematic suppression, the feminist movement in China has persisted and gained steam. “This is not so simple that you find a few female bloggers and shut down their accounts,” said Zhou Xiaoxuan, explaining that “becoming a feminist comes from discovering what kind of problems you face. And once you become a feminist, then it’s very hard to give it up. And #MeToo’s very important meaning is that it has inspired a broad feminist community.”13

China’s MeToo movement is beyond inspiring, a shining example of bravery and perseverance in the face of oppression. Considering this, the Chinese MeToo movement is pretty underrated. The American MeToo movement is so prominent in the global conversation, as it should be, but the Chinese MeToo movement deserves just as much attention. It uplifts all women in the country rather than just focusing on celebrities. It makes sense that legal battles are not as exciting stories as Hollywood exposés, but what these women have accomplished is amazing. Women all across the country working in concert, contributing to this amazing effort, are dragging their country toward progress, in spite of great obstacles and impediments.

1 Tom Phillips, “China’s Women Break Silence on Harassment as #MeToo Becomes #WoYeShi,” The Guardian, January 8, 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/09/china-women-break-silence-harassment-metoo-woyeshi 2 Yaqiu Wang, “#MeToo in the Land of Censorship,” The Washington Post, May 8, 2020, https://www.washingtonpost.com/ opinions/2020/05/08/metoo-around-the-world/#Wang 3 Huizhong Wu, “China’s crackdown on #MeToo movement extends far beyond tennis star Peng Shuai,” PBS News Hour, November 24, 2021, https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/chinacrackdown-on-metoo-movement-extends-far-beyond-tennis-starpeng-shuai 4 Huizhong Wu 5 Phillips 6 Lily Kuo, “‘It is not hopeless’: China’s #MeToo movement finally sees legal victories,” The Guardian, November 3, 2019, https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/04/it-is-not-hopeless-chinas-metoo-movement-finally-sees-legal-victories 7 Lily Kuo 8 Huizhong Wu 9 Huizhong Wu 10 Tom Phillips 11 Yaqiu Wang 12 Huizhong Wu 13 Huizhong Wu