China’s #MeToo Movement Gains Force Despite Govt Clampdown

Allegations against TV host Zhu Jun sent Twitter into a meltdown.

Zhu Jun, a popular TV host for China Central Television (CCTV), was accused of sexual harassment by a former intern of the same organisation.

In the article posted on Weibo — a Chinese microblogging site — the woman said that she was inspired by the wave of women who came forward this week with their stories of sexual assault in the media industry, reported SupChina.

Around twenty women in China reportedly came out on social media with allegations against former bosses in the past week.

An environmentalist, three journalists,  two badminton coaches, and one of China’s most watched television host, all have accused of sexual misconduct in the last week in China’s #MeToo moment. Over 20 women have come out with allegations against former bosses, acquaintances, and colleagues this week.  As the #Metoo Movement moves towards the East, more and more people stand together against sexual harassment! More power to these women❤️❤️ #MetooChina #TimesUp #SusanGoudy #TakeYourPowerBack #Justice #love #Peace

A post shared by Susan Goudy (@takeyourpower) on Jul 31, 2018 at 10:23am PDT

Among the accused are a Chinese anti-discrimination campaigner, an environmentalist, three journalists, an academic, and two badminton coaches, besides Zhu Jun.

#MeTooChina Trends on Twitter

The news of allegations against the TV host sent Twitter into a meltdown with tweeple referring to these events as China’s own #MeToo movement.

#MeTooChina Now there are more n more girls standing for the movement, in China we’ll eventually break the chain. pic.twitter.com/7H1rKcalQ0

— MeTooChina (@EXTRANIAN) July 26, 2018

It’s Christmas in July ya’ll.

I’m proud of #MeTooChina and hope the momentum gains for traction! I’ve got my humor back because of this.#MeToo

— AlexaPrime㊗️ (@PrimeAlexa) July 27, 2018

#MeTooChina By launching and firmly standing for this movement,we’ll break the silence to achieve the first step on the road of fighting against sexual harassment.Although there’s still much to be done and it’s actually hard to change the situation right away,we’ll NEVER give up pic.twitter.com/zRrjeAHPv7

— JasmineTongCY (@ColreoneJasmine) July 26, 2018

Chinese Metoo finally came in recent days...but unliking US, it started from news industry, not film and TV industry. One host from China Central Television called Zhu Jun was accused of harassment. #Metoo

— Gavin Feng (@weier1231997) July 26, 2018

Can people teach their sons it’s not right to touch a girl without her consent #MeTooChina

— l (@ttxshhxxo) July 29, 2018

I hope this is a NEW beginning.I love this country.I think she is developing NOW. I support this activity.
Only YES means YES #MeTooChina

— Vivi_Geng (@js_vivi) July 26, 2018

#metoochina

A post shared by shshyao (@shshyao) on Jul 25, 2018 at 4:10am PDT

“Why Can’t We Face the Truth?” ask Tweeple

Chinese government reacted by censoring hundreds of social media posts supporting the #MeToo campaign, leading to further outrage.

It’s really sad when you post your opinions on Chinese social media but get deleted😭Why can’t we face the truth?#metoo #Metoochina pic.twitter.com/DUvCo6iIFP

— Yufan Deng (@deng_yufan) July 26, 2018

#MeTooChina #Zhujun Zhujun topic is banned on weibo so people go to comment https://t.co/vdEDMa0zHy he shut that down,too.🙃Nice try pic.twitter.com/qnljWlYd41

— 云千千 (@QianyuYun) July 27, 2018

Zhu Jun and CCTV delete all the posts about Zhu Jun’ sexual assault on sina weibo. You can not delete posts on Twitter. pic.twitter.com/6CyK6zuzz4

— Wendy Blanchett (@jOdYZQrFjqphSTS) July 30, 2018

#MeToo⁠ ⁠ #MeTooChina #WeNeedYourAttention
Chinese students of foreign languages tried to SPEAK FOR THEIR OWN RIGHTS after Chinese Government BANNED THE HASHTAG #metoo⁠ ⁠ in Chinese social media😭! Now they blocked that microblog, and victims have NO WHERE TO GO pic.twitter.com/ZHPYBLjkNw

— Amy (@ShakeThatStar) July 28, 2018

#MeTooChina #MeToo related hashtags censored on weibo. pic.twitter.com/HcgozO2bOR

— Lotus Ruan (@lotus_ruan) July 29, 2018

#metoo #MeTooChina #MeToo It made me so sad that when ur asking “right or wrong “questions,we are still fighting for the rights to discuss them .😞😢
I believe my country will be better someday ,but not now,not in this area.
We are far from safety,equal rights,and freedom. pic.twitter.com/XJNp4Qr9X7

— Lento_57 (@57Lento) July 28, 2018

However, despite the Chinese government’s efforts, Twitter users continued to use a number of hashtags including #MeTooChina to narrate their own stories of sexual assault and to support women in China who were doing the same.