Huang Xueqin helped spark China’s first #MeToo case in 2018. Working as a freelance journalist, Huang publicized sexual harassment allegations leveled by a graduate student against her doctoral supervisor at a prestigious university.
According to her surroundings, the Chinese journalist Huang Xueqinwhich promoted women’s rights as part of the nascent movement #MeToo of the country, has been condemned tofive years in prison accused of incitement to subvert the authority of the State.
Huang’s conviction comes nearly three years after she and the activist Wang Jianbing were arrested. Jianbing, a co-defendant known best for his advocacy work labor rightsalso helped women report sexual harassment and was sentenced to three years and six months for the same position.
Huang Xueqin would also face a MORE 100,000 yuan (13.000 euros), underscoring the ruling Communist Party’s lack of tolerance for activism outside its control, in a system in which senior positions are predominantly occupied by men.
The #MeToo movement Chinabloomed briefly before stifled by the government. China frequently silences activists by subjecting them to prolonged periods of isolation without communication before later sentencing them to prison.
The Huang and Wang cases appear to have become intertwined as part of the most recent wave of widespread repression of rights defendersa trend that predates the #MeToo movement and includes previous incidents such as the arrests in 2015 of women who distributed leaflets against sexual harassment on public transport.
Huang Xueqin helped spark the first Me Too case in China
Working as a freelance journalist, Huang helped spark the first case of China’s Me Too movement in 2018when made public las sexual harassment accusations presented by a post graduate studentagainst his PhD supervisor at one of the most prestigious universities in China.
According to his friends, Huang and Wang They disappeared on September 19, 2021, a day before Huang was scheduled to fly to the United Kingdom to start a master’s degree in gender violence and conflict at the University of Sussex. Were judged in September 2023.
The International Women’s Media Foundation had previously awarded Huang the Wallis Annenberg Justice Award for Women Journalists. Supporters of Huang and Wang created a web page on GitHub to post updates on the case and share their opinions.
Human rights groups condemn the sentence
The director for China of International AmnestySarah Brooks, issued a statement condemning Huang’s conviction as a attack on the defense of women in the People’s Republic of China, which has long promoted the concept that “women hold up half the sky” but whose institutions remain dominated by men.
“These sentences they will prolong their detentiondeeply unfair, and they will have a new chilling effect on human rights and social defense in a country where activists face increasing repressive measures of the State“Brooks said in an emailed statement.
“In reality, they have not committed any crime. Instead, the Chinese government has invented excuses for considering your job a threat and to persecute them for educating themselves and others in social justice issues such as the dignity of women and workers’ rights,” Brooks said.
Huang’s release date was listed as September 18, 2026, which explains his previous detention. China usually appears in the list of the countries that imprison the most journalists.
