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#MeToo Takes Off in China

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#MeToo Takes Off in China

Mr. Jiazhuang,

5 min read
5 take-aways
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What's inside?

The #MeToo Movement has been relatively quiet in China – until now. 

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Editorial Rating

8

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Recommendation

More than six months after the #MeToo Movement took the United States by storm, China might finally be on the brink of its own movement against sexual harassment. It’s a little late in coming, seeing that China’s East Asian neighbor South Korea has been engaged in #MeToo for months. Mr. Jiazhuang, the editor and founder of the social commentary WeChat wemedia account that carries his pen name, explains why #MeToo took so long to take root in China and looks at how the public has reacted to the movement. While Mr. Jiazhuang was hopeful and enthusiastic about the movement at the time the article was published, China’s Internet censors have since quieted down public discussion and commentary on sexual harassment. The last high-profile case that came to light centered on a famous host on China Central Television Station (CCTV), which is state-owned and affiliated with government officials. Many believe that censorship came into effect because #MeToo was reaching too far up the power ladder. Since then, most of the thought-provoking, in-depth analysis of sexual harassment in China has disappeared from the web, leaving only a few generic articles on the subject. Despite – and in light of – this setback, getAbstract recommends this article to anyone who is following the #MeToo Movement. 

Summary

In October 2017, sexual harassment allegations against Hollywood movie producer Harvey Weinstein set off an avalanche of similar accusations coming to light against other high-profile leaders, politicians and entertainers. Victims of sexual abuse came forward on Twitter using the hashtag #MeToo to talk about their experiences, thus making the public aware of the pervasiveness and seriousness of this problem. What came to be known as the #MeToo Movement swept across the world. However, China has remained as removed from the action as an isolated island.

Though several reports of university professors molesting college students received media attention, the state quickly dampened these initial flames of a possible #MeToo Movement in China. The nation’s public universities are heavily tied to the government, and those higher up in the hierarchy have used their power to quiet accusers in order to protect the universities’ public image and their personnel.

China’s distance from this social movement isn’t a surprise. After all, China tends to be out of sync with the rest of the world on many social issues. Maybe that’s why – around...

About the Author

Mr. Jiazhuang (pen name) is the creator of the WeChat wemedia channel Mr. Jiazhuang, where he and his team write op-eds about global current events, social issues and observations of America from a Chinese standpoint. 

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