Is this the start of #MeToo in China?

China needs a #MeToo movement, but wishing won’t make it so

When former Beihang University doctoral student Luo Qianqian came forward on Weibo this week with allegations against her professor from 14 years ago, she tagged her post #MeToo.

Luo alleges that her professor at the time, Chen Xiaowu, harassed her and several other female students since then. When Chen denied the claims on Monday, Luo then published a second post including voice recordings and screenshots as evidence.

The topic has gone viral on Weibo, garnering over 10 million views and 17,000 shares since Monday, trending under the tag “Beihang professor accused of sexual harassment” (#北航教授被指性骚扰#). Luo lives in America now, and said that the #MeToo movement there inspired her to come forward.

Luo’s case follows closely on the heels of a number of other reports and allegations of sexual assault in academia and journalism that have come to light in China in the past month or two, leading many to wonder: Is this the beginning of #MeToo in China?

Unfortunately, probably not.

As SCMP, HKFP, and SupChina have all pointed out with their excellent coverage of the issue, China faces a number of enormous challenges to addressing the problem. First, culturally speaking, the hurdles are higher here than they are in America. The culture of victim shaming and blaming is even stronger in China, and notions of filial piety often prevent victims from reporting for fears of hurting their parents. Some even claim that sexual harassment is a Western phenomenon, and doesn’t really exist in China.

Second, the laws regarding sexual harassment in China are weak and vague.

But most importantly, China lacks the two key catalysts that brought about such a cultural sea change in America: The in-depth investigative reporting into the personal and professional lives of powerful people (led by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey at the New York Times), and the celebrities that came forward to personally make allegations (led by Ashley Judd, Angelina Jolie, and Gwyneth Paltrow, among many, many others.)

Some look at Luo’s case and see the spark that could start a movement in China. But while the movement in America has been spurred forward by allegations in the worlds of academia and journalism, it is important to remember that it started with those two essentials listed above: investigative reporting and celebrity participation.

Women wont speak out until it has been made more socially acceptable, and thus much safer, to do so. Until a few high-profile and powerful men are dethroned for being creeps, and until Chinese celebrities demonstrate they are ready to take a stand, it seems unlikely that much will change.

But even if there is no watershed moment for confronting sexual assault in China, at least the issue continues to gain coverage and elicit conversation on social media. Netizens are paying attention, even if they aren’t quite ready to speak out themselves.

Below is the most up-voted comment from the discussion topic “What do you think about the sexual misconduct allegations made by Luo Qianqian against Beihang University professor Chen Xiaowu?” (如何看待北航长江学者陈小武被一毕业女博士罗茜茜实名举报?) currently trending on Zhihu. (Zhihu is the Quora-esque Chinese question-and-answer platform where Luo first made her allegations and discovered fellow victims of the same professor.)

From user 花火:

Sadly, a post just last week on social media entitled “Why is the Time Person of the Year this group of people?” said the following: We cannot be part of these “Silence Breakers” because the #MeToo movement has failed to elicit much of a response in China. Our internet is separate from the rest of the world. Our sphere of public opinion is entirely separate and different from the rest of the world. So the #MeToo movement doesn’t really matter in China. When I read this, it made me sad. On the first day of 2018, when I saw Luo Qianqian’s exposé, I thought, is this the start of #MeToo in China? I truly hope so. I have heard of so many unreported instances of sexual harassment and assault. It is to these survivors that I am speaking now. Survivors of sexual harassment and assault lack the courage to stand up because they lack the people who will truly listen to them, and the safe social environment in which to speak. They lack an environment that will protect them from further harm. Finally, to Luo Qianqian and other women who have stood up: Girls, you are beautiful! Press on!

This article was written by Jessica Colwell.