By UCA News reporter
THE jailing of Chinese journalist and #MeToo activist Sophia Huang Xueqin for five years by the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court on Jun 14 for “inciting subversion of state power,” has sparked an angry response from rights groups and her supporters.
She was detained September 2021 alongside labour activist Wang Jianbing — also known as “Pancake” — when leaving for the UK to start her masters scholarship at the University of Sussex.
Wang was jailed for three-and-a-half years.
Both were prominent supporters of the #MeToo movement in China and were held in secret locations before their trial — held in a closed court — began 10 months ago. Their sentences were initially made public by her supporters who said Huang intended to appeal.
The Committee to Protect Journalists called for Huang’s unconditional and immediate release and for the charges to be dropped as did Amnesty International which noted that authorities had used a measure known as “residential surveillance in a designated location”.
This enables investigators to hold suspects for up to six months outside the formal criminal system which Amnesty says amounts to a form of “secret incommunicado detention” putting them at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.
“This form of detention has been used to curb the activities of human rights defenders, including lawyers, activists and religious practitioners. Activists and human rights defenders continue to be systematically subjected to monitoring, harassment, intimidation, arrest and detention.”
Huang, 36, was detained from October 2019 to 2020 after covering mass protests in Hong Kong. Wang, 41, provided legal support for people with disabilities and work related health issues.
“#MeToo activism has empowered survivors of sexual violence around the world, but in this case the Chinese authorities have sought to do the exact opposite by stamping it out,” Amnesty’s China Director Sarah Brooks said
“These malicious and totally groundless convictions show just how terrified the Chinese government is of the emerging wave of activists who dare to speak out to protect the rights of others,” she said in a statement.
Journalists in Hong Kong, who declined to named out of fear of recriminations, echoed those sentiments saying Huang had simply highlighted issues related to sexual harassment in the work place through the #MeTo movement.
“How that can be construed with inciting subversion or attempting to undermine the state is incredulous. It’s beyond me. These are issues that the state should be concerned with,” said a foreign correspondent with a Western publication.
“They should thank her but instead she’s been jailed for five years and that sends a chilling message to everyone, particularly the Chinese, who work in the media industry,” he added.
Another journalist said she was disappointed with the verdict adding “this type of thing just keeps on happening and its destructive when compared with the prevailing attitudes of 15 or 20 years ago when airing problems didn’t seem to be frowned upon and was certainly not a legal offense”. – UCA News
