Digital Feminism in China

Digital media has shaped the way feminist activism is taking place both within and outside of China's digital sphere. The rise of digital feminism has grown in particular with the growing of the MeToo movement and increase use of the internet and social media platforms. However, despite the evolving digital environment that allows feminist ideas to thrive, the complexity of feminist activism in the digital age has been hampered through obstacles such as state censorship and exclusivity.

Origins

MeToo Movement

The MeToo movement originated in the United States when the hashtag #MeToo went viral on social media platforms like Twitter. The term was first coined by activist Tarana Burke, but had a resurgence in 2017 after multiple accusations of sexual assault against Hollywood Producer Harvey Weinstein were made public. This resulted in a multitude of predominantly female celebrities coming forward with their own experiences of sexual abuse, particularly after actress Alyssa Milano asked people to come forward with their own stories. Despite its origins within an American digisphere, the movement began gaining traction across the world.

MeToo in China

After the subsequent rise of the #MeToo movement in the United States, social media platforms such as Weibo and WeChat became the digital grounds for feminist discourse. This movement first gained traction in universities, and later, its effects were felt across Chinese society . The hashtag #MeToo was adopted by Chinese citizens to talk about stories of sexual assault, and among these were several high-profile cases involving high profile individuals. Despite China’s strict internet firewall and removal of the hashtag from social media sites shortly after, activists had utilized the hashtag #米兔 (rice bunny), which sounds like the phrase ‘me too’ phonetically in order to circumvent online censorship. However, this too was shortly taken off Weibo .

Use of Communication Technologies

The widespread use of digital technologies in the 1990s led to a surge in the democratization of online communication, although subsequent actions by the Chinese government quickly seized control over online interactions. The Information Office of the State Council of the People’s Republic of China stated that “citizens’ freedom and privacy of correspondence is protected by law, which stipulates at the same time that while exercising such freedom and rights, citizens are not allowed to infringe upon state, social and collective interests or the legitimate freedom and rights of other citizens. No organization or individual may utilize telecommunication networks to engage in activities that jeopardize state security, the public interest or the legitimate rights and interests of other people.”, effectively allowing the state to govern the digital interactions between its millions of users.

This led to activists creating new ways in order to circumvent government detection online . Information communication technologies (ICTs) have played an important role in disseminating individual accounts of sexual harassment and abuse. Women in particular as a result have used the popularity of digital platforms in order to express their support or share their own stories . Activists and citizens alike have used the booming popularity of social media platforms like Weibo in order to explore feminist ideas despite China’s heavy censorship over its internet content . In addition to social media platforms, blogs and articles were subsequently written questioning the patriarchal values of Chinese society. In one instance, Professor Chang Jiang of Tsinghua University collected and anonymously shared stories of women and young girls and their experiences with sexual assault. His use of the hashtag #I will be your voice began making the rounds online along #metoo and #米兔.

Weibo and WeChat, two of China’s most popular social media platforms, have become the center ground for feminist discourse in China. While Weibo offers greater anonymity and is curated by hashtags, Lu criticizes that the online #metoo movement is too ‘flat’, and that activism must reach a certain level of education for the general public around feminist discourse . WeChat in particular allows its users to create group chats which “allow more intimate group communications and collaborative work”, resulting in its more effective use in pushing online engagement into offline measures.

Criticisms of Communication Technologies in Feminist Discourse

Criticism against the use of social media to disseminate feminist ideas were largely driven by elite, middle-class people. Those who are underprivileged, such as working-class or rural women, are often left out of online feminist discourse. Despite the growing prevalence of digital technology, such as the widespread use of phones and/or computers, socioeconomic obstacles often become barriers for marginalized women to participate in such online discussion. Other constraints include heavy workloads, thus discouraging women even further, particularly those who must devote their time elsewhere.

Prominent Cases

There exist multiple prominent cases in which ICTs have been used to facilitate feminist activism in the digisphere in China. On January 2018, a young woman by the name of Luo Qianqian published on social media platform Weibo about Chen Xiaowu, a professor at Beihang University, and his alleged sexual harassment against her back in 2006 when she was a doctoral student . The post gained approximately three million hits online. This resulted in other subsequent victims coming forth with anonymous complaints about similar experiences involving Chen, many of which were all reported to the university by Luo . This led to the eventual resignation of Chen after widespread attention and significant backlash. This particular incident was seen as the beginning of the #metoo movement, although feminist activist Lu Pin believes this the movement to have come in waves .

As the movement spread outside of universities and into the mainstream. One prominent case included an intern, Xianzi, accusing Jun Zhu, a journalist at China Central Television (CCTV) of sexual harassment. In another incident, a number of nuns had accused Xue Cheng, Longquan Monastery abbot, of harassment at a Buddhist learning center in Beijing . The use of online platforms had become the grounds for amplifying voices of those accusing others of sexual harassment and abuse.

Protesters displayed posters in support of Xianzi outside court in Beijing

Reactions

Legislative Response

In November of 2018, the Ministry of Education put down regulations over teachers’ behaviors prohibiting any type of inappropriate relationship with students. On August 27, 2018, the National People’s Congress submitted a proposal that would allow victims to bear civil liability and pressure employers into reporting and stopping any type of sexual harassment in the workplace. Although state reaction seemed to have supported anti-harassment, they were hindered by Chinese censors online.

Government Response

Government response was swift. #MeToo posts on these platforms were oftentimes deleted immediately after being posted online, with authorities warning citizens “Do not report on the relevant petition incidents” due to fears of the movement disrupting Chinese society . Fincher states that the #MeToo movement and subsequent digital activism represented collective action and had the potential to undermine social stability in China . In one instance, a female university student told researchers Lin and Yang that after making an accusation of harassment against a professor, “university officials called me in for a very serious conversation where they said I might be collaborating with some anti-government foreign power…” .

Chang Jiang’s Weibo accounted was suspended a month after his hashtag #I will be your voice went viral. In March 2018, Feminist Voices, an independent feminist media, was shut down. Both their Weibo and WeChat accounts, a total of 250,000 followers combined, were blocked on the platforms due to “violating the related state’s policy and laws” .

Public Reaction

Additionally, although anonymity allowed users to tell their stories without offline ramifications, the anonymity of social platforms did not prevent victim blaming or shaming amongst those who accused others. For those who used their real names, there were opportunities for netizens to question accusers of their motives against those they accused, and speculations of wanting to be famous or for revenge were spread by online users. For instance, Xianzi’s case against Zhu Jun, many questioned why she did not report the accusations at the time of the alleged assault .

Response of the Accused

Many of those who were accused of committing sexual harassment or abuse had sued those that accused them for the infringemeent of reputation rights, including Xianzi by Zhu Jun.