China again blocks #MeToo in fear of public backlash

由於擔心公眾反對，中國封殺#MeToo運動

The second wave of #MeToo discussion began in China last week, before censors rushed to delete the online content


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Chinese government has censored thousands of online posts detailing sexual harassment, and blocked the hashtag #MeToo and related hashtags in fear of public discontent at the government and public institutions over the weekend, reports say.

A second wave of #MeToo online discussion began last week, leading to "sexual assault evidence collection"becoming the second most talked about topic on social media website Weibo, reported Reuters, before censors rushed to delete the content.

Numerous public figures in academia, sport, media and the non-governmental space had sexual assault allegations leveled against them over the past week, after an anonymous netizen accused Lei Chuang(雷闖), founder of a prominent charity, of raping her during a business trip in 2015.

This is the second wave of the #MeToo movement in China, after it began in December 2017, when a former student accused an academic at Beihang University, Beijing of sexually assaulting her, leading to hundreds of other accounts of sexual abuse. During the first wave, Chinese censors deleted online social media posts and blocked hashtags, reported the South China Morning Post.

The #MeToo hashtag on Weibo has been blocked, with a message saying "the topic doesn't exist according to relevant laws and policies"if it the hashtag is searched for.

Reuters reported that according to Free Weibo, a website that catalogues blocked content from Weibo, the phrases "Metoo" and "Me too" are respectively ranked eighth and ninth most popular.

Fu King-wa (傅景華), an academic at the University of Hong Kong told the New York Times that the Chinese government likely fears the backlash of the #MeToo movement against the government and public institutions. "Censorship can only stop public discussion for awhile," he said. "When something big happens again, it will come back."

Xiong Jing (熊婧), Director of Beijing-based NGO Women's Media Monitor Network told CNN that the government's censorship and efforts to hide the issue from the public will encourage more people to share their experiences, making the #MeToo movement in China stronger.