

Chinese internet giant Tencent is facing a major public relations crisis after a video leaked online from one of the company’s year-end parties showing a pair of female workers on their knees in front of male colleagues on stage in a lewd game meant to suggest oral sex.

In the 7-second long video, the two female employees are seen trying to use their teeth to open a bottle of water that is wedged between the legs of the male workers as their coworkers in the audience cheer them on. The footage was shot at a party held by the company’s instant messaging department before the annual Chinese New Year break.

Watch on YouTube below:



The video has served to remind many of the pervasive sexism, discrimination and hazing that still exists in Chinese corporate culture, even at one of the country’s most profitable and forward-thinking tech companies. It has been met with unbridled outrage by online commentators and sparked discussion about the challenges that young female professionals face when trying to fit in at the office.

“How could a company treat its workers in this way? Do they not have any sense of decency?” wondered one Weibo user.

“Why would these women allow themselves to be shamed in this way? What would their fathers say?” asked another netizen.

“If they don’t do this, then they would be out of job. We must change this kind of disgraceful male chauvinistic culture!” responded another web user.

On Thursday, Tencent released a statement apologizing for what had occurred at its annual party, blaming the incident on poor oversight at the event and promising that it would not happen again in the future. The company said that workers responsible had been punished with “demerits” on their record, though it’s not clear if this will result in any real punishment.

Bloomberg reports that none of Tencent’s executives, board members or division chiefs are women.

This isn’t the first time that one of China’s top companies has shocked the public with its tone-deaf attitude toward sexism. In 2015, Alibaba was forced to withdraw a job advertisements for a female candidate looking like porn star Sora Aoi who was to be tasked with “motivating” her fellow coworkers.

That same year, Baidu celebrated International Women’s Day with a series of lackluster doodles perpetuating stereotypical images of women. In next year, a senior Baidu exec was demoted after giving an incredibly sexist presentation, in which he told the audience:

“If a girl says to me, ‘The air conditioning in my dorm doesn’t work, and I don’t want to go home,’ what does she mean? I think it means she wants to kiss and have some sex.”

[Video via Miaopai]

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