China: #MeToo Journalist Jailed for Five Years

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Facts

  • Sophia Huang Xueqin, a prominent figure in China's #MeToo movement, Friday was handed a five-year jail sentence after being found guilty on charges of 'inciting subversion of state power' by a court in southern China.1
  • The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court also sentenced labor activist Wang Jianbin, who stood trial with Huang, to three years and six months in prison on the same charge.2
  • Xueqin, 36, and Jianbin, 40, have already spent nearly 1K days behind bars after their September 2021 arrest. Huang is fined 100K RMB ($13.8K), while Wang is fined 50K RMB ($6.9K).3
  • A former investigative reporter, Xueqin helped spark China's first #MeToo case in 2018 when she used her influence to publicize sexual harassment allegations made by a graduate student against her PhD supervisor.4
  • Xueqin was detained one day before she was due to fly to the UK to start a master's degree program at the University of Sussex. Her and Jianbin's closed-door trial began last September.5
  • Xueqin's release date is scheduled for Sept. 18, 2026, while Jianbin's release is set for March 18, 2025, suggesting their jail terms accounted for their time in detention.6

Sources: 1Al Jazeera, 2BBC News, 3Guardian, 4CNN, 5NBC and 6Voice of America.

Narratives

  • Anti-China narrative, as provided by Amnesty. These convictions are arbitrary, malicious, and unjust. Beijing is trying to penalize and silence civil society activists for reporting ground-breaking stories about sexual abuse victims, misogyny, and sexism at Chinese universities and workplaces. The PRC is viewing activism as a national security crime and imposing criminal charges for deeds that challenge government authority in a vile attempt to decimate social activism.
  • Pro-China narrative, as provided by Barrons. These activists published distorted and inflammatory articles on foreign social media platforms and organized gatherings to incite youth dissatisfaction toward the government, which could create challenges to political stability in China. Any attempt by the agents of hostile Western forces to challenge China's rule of law and smear its judicial sovereignty must not succeed.

Predictions