China: appeal trial in the Xianzi case, figure of the #MeToo movement

Despite new anti-harassment legislation passed in 2020, Chinese women are reluctant to report harassment and few cases end up in court.

AP - Andy Wong

Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

In China, a lawsuit emblematic of the feminist movement regains its rights, that of a young plaintiff who accuses a prominent television presenter of harassment.

Zhou Xiaoxuan's complaint was dismissed in 2020 for lack of evidence.

She appealed and intends to continue her fight and inspire other women to speak openly about sexual violence.

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Zhou Xiaoxuan, 29 years old and former intern at CCTV, the state television, accuses Zhu Jun, a behemoth of the Chinese small screen, star presenter of the state channel of having kissed and caressed her forcibly during her internship. 

Despite a rejection of her complaint for sexual harassment and after four years of legal action, the young woman does not give up.

She still hopes for the condemnation of the presenter.

Xianzi versus Zhu Jun, David versus Goliath

The first instance trial in 2020 had a large crowd in court.

Dozens of young women and young men had come to support the one everyone calls Xianzi.

By publicly attacking a Chinese television pundit, she has become the face of the #MeToo movement in China and a role model for many activists.

But the awakening of the feminist movement comes up against the censorship of a Chinese power, suspicious of any social struggle.

For nearly a year now, Huang Xueqin, another feminist activist, has been held incommunicado in an illegal regime prison.

She had been arrested for “

”.

A catch-all pattern used by Beijing, to silence any voice deemed dissonant.

►Also read: China: dismissal in the Xianzi case, figure of the #MeToo movement

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