CHAPTER 24

• Jurisdiction: United States

CHAPTER 24

#MeToo ( ? ? ) in China: A Good, Quick Battle Against Sexual Harassment

Lining Zhang¹

In spring 2018, #MeToo catalyzed a social media battle over sexual harassment in China on "We Media,"² a first in the Peoples' Republic of China. Before 2018, feminist grassroots activists had begun to bring the issue into public discourse. They conducted surveys and polls, and gathered reports documenting the prevalence of sexual harassment in public spaces, as well as workplaces and schools. ³ Beyond mere data collection, they also gathered personal stories of women's experiences. Activists raised awareness of the issue by hitchhiking all over China wearing a poster with messages decrying sexual harassment.⁴ Amid this uprising, two prominent male professors at renowned Chinese universities were accused of sexually harassing their students, leading to their controversial dismissals.⁵

The number of similar cases increased drastically in 2018. Within half a year, more than thirty perpetrators were named on We Media by victims or bystanders; many were eventually removed from their posts at high-ranking universities in China. These included nationally recognized professors from Peking, WuHan, Nanjing, Beijing, and Xiamen Universities, many of whom were associated with Ministry of Education-sponsored national projects.

The proliferation of anonymous stories of sexual harassment on We Media has cemented its role in the #MeToo movement in China, with university campuses as the primary battlefield. The Chinese media's portrayal of university campuses as a youthful, academic utopia contributes to the shock value and interest in these stories.

There are several forces leading this movement in China, all of which use their We Media accounts, that is, WeChat and Weibo. Activists⁶ created hashtags of "MeToo in China" on Weibo, and WeChat group accounts and email accounts, as well as one hotline, all of which are used as channels to receive any reports, stories, and information about sexual harassment incidents from anybody, and spread messages including data, information, and stories as well as ways to join the movement. When We Media censors deactivated these accounts, new ones were created to spread the same messages. Activists found ways to avoid the censorship by posting and sending images with words embedded in them, rather than posting words and phrases that can be easily searched and detected.

The global #MeToo movement inspired Chinese activists to explore the power of We Media to investigate and to publicize sexual harassment allegations in innovative ways. When stories of sexual harassment were received, activists, together with the informants, investigated and interviewed the survivors, witnesses, and their friends and family. When survivors were unwilling or unavailable, activists became the first story tellers. The power lay in the activists' control of the narrative; other media outlets might twist or manipulate the story. To control the integrity of the story, the activists released the first version of the story. This allowed them to shape the vocabulary, tone, and perspectives to be repeated by viewers when they discuss the stories. Capitalizing on the public's feelings of outrage and injustice, the activists' strategy was to engage the public, inspire their empathy, and tell them the specific measures to take. Direct bystanders were encouraged to tell stories and incidents of sexual harassment on We Media, with the choice to either name perpetrators or make anonymous accusations. The public, particularly the educated, were invited on We Media to sign their names on letters of petition or letters of request for information written to university leadership, legislators, and People's Representatives. Letters generally garnered at least 500-800 signatures. The Ministry of Education has responded in social media to such letters, promising that they will take measures requested by the writers, including investigations of all cases reported, issuing strict rules for all education institutions on prohibition, prevention, and handling cases of sexual harassment. In addition, several People's Representatives have responded to the letters saying that in the National People's Congress annual meeting in the spring of 2020, the issue of sexual harassment will be on the agenda. While not sufficient, these responses were significant progress on the social media battle, as it said loud and clear to the general public, to the perpetrators, and more importantly to the survivors, that "it ain't private or personal anymore," and it IS a national, public issue of law and morality.

Another important strategy that came from the #MeToo movement is the focus on individual stories. The power of individual stories is that...