“It’s only the beginning of ‘Me Too’ in China,” said Li Tingting, an activist for gender equality. “The men-dominant structure is everywhere. The rape culture is still powerful.”

Once a champion of gender equality, the Chinese government has greeted the #MeToo movement cautiously. Some officials are nervous about its foreign roots and see it as a force for disruption in a society that prizes stability.

The government has deployed censors to limit the movement’s spread. As the letters by the women appeared this week on social media, censors went into action, banning the English #MeToo hashtag on social media sites and deleting some letters.

Still, the accusations have prompted vigorous online debate within China, with some posted comments applauding the women for coming forward and others accusing them of seeking fame.

Several of the men denied the accusations.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mr. Zhang, the intellectual, acknowledged having sex with the woman who wrote the letter, but he described it as consensual. Several other women, including the writer Jiang Fangzhou, have since accused him of harassment.

Mr. Zhang, who has worked at China Newsweek and written for international publications, said in the statement it was common for colleagues in the media industry to hug and kiss after drinking together.

The wave of allegations this week extended beyond the media industry to the nonprofit sphere.

An advocate for hepatitis B patients, Lei Chuang, resigned on Monday from the charity he founded after a co-worker accused him of assaulting her after a hiking trip. Then, the environmentalist Feng Yongfeng resigned from his charity on Tuesday after being accused of harassing several women.