According to an article in Asahi Shimbun, a Chinese court has sentenced journalist Huang Xueqin, a prominent figure in the country's nascent #MeToo movement, to five years in prison for the charge of incitement to subvert state authority. This verdict, along with a significant fine of 100,000 yuan (approximately $14,000), underscores the Chinese government's intolerance toward activism outside its control, particularly within a system where the upper echelons remain dominated by men.
According to supporters, Huang's release date is set for September 18, 2026, accounting for her earlier detention in September 2021, just a day before she was scheduled to commence a master's degree program on gender violence and conflict at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom.
The verdict against #HuangXueqin dealt a harsh blow to #MeToo movement in #China. It's Chinese gov's latest assault on defenders advocating for women's equal rights, fighting sexual harassment & violence against women. https://t.co/WLuUWxCpFU
— Renee Xia (@ReneeXiaCHRD) June 14, 2024
Her co-defendant, Wang Jianbing, an activist known for his labor rights advocacy who also assisted women in reporting instances of sexual harassment, received a sentence of three years and six months on the same charge.
Huang played a pivotal role in sparking China's first high-profile #MeToo case in 2018 when she publicized allegations of sexual harassment made by a graduate student against her PhD supervisor at one of the country's most prestigious universities.
Sarah Brooks, Amnesty International's China Director, condemned Huang's conviction, stating, "These convictions will prolong their deeply unjust detention and have a further chilling effect on human rights and social advocacy in a country where activists face increasing state crackdowns. In reality, they have committed no actual crime. Instead, the Chinese government has fabricated excuses to deem their work a threat, and to target them for educating themselves and others about social justice issues such as women's dignity and workers' rights."
The #MeToo movement in China initially gained traction but was promptly suppressed by the government's crackdown on dissent. Huang and Wang's cases seem intertwined with the broader wave of repression against rights advocates, which predates the #MeToo movement and includes previous incidents such as the 2015 detentions of women distributing pamphlets against sexual harassment on public transport.
In 2022 @IndexCensorship gave our Freedom of Expression in journalism award to Sophia Huang Xueqin. Here's the video that accompanied the award. A little glimpse into how remarkable she is. She must be freed, as must Wang Jianbing, also sentenced today https://t.co/fOxTLcmWo0
— Jemimah Steinfeld (@JFSteinfeld) June 14, 2024
