China hands five-year prison sentence to MeToo campaigner.
In China, famous MeToo activist Sophia Huang Xueqin was recently sentenced to five years in prison for opposing state power. This verdict was given by a court in Guangzhou, a metropolis with a huge population in the country's southern region, as per her supporters. Wang Jianbing, another prominent labor rights activist, received a sentence of three and a half years.
Prior to her arrest, Huang had written about her encounters with sexual harassment at work when she was a young journalist. According to the judgement, she was convicted for posting "misleading, provocative, and government-attacking articles and speeches" online. Wang's crime was labeled as sharing "false articles and speeches that defame the political system and the Chinese authorities."
Human rights organization, Amnesty International, expressed their dissatisfaction with the conviction, declaring it "entirely baseless." They also demanded the release of these two activists. Sarah Brooks, the China Director at Amnesty International, stated, "Sophia Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing were jailed just for expressing their opinions freely, and consequently, they should be freed from prison without any conditions."
Both Huang and Wang were apprehended in September 2021, but their trial commenced only the year before. As organizers of regular gatherings for activists in Guangzhou, the court claimed that their discussions on social matters caused discontent towards the Chinese government among the attendees.
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Despite facing years of harassment and as a prominent MeToo activist, Sophia Huang Xueqin continued to speak out against sexual misconduct in China's workplace. This act of defiance led to her detention and subsequent five-year prison sentence for posting "misleading, provoking, and government-critical" content online.
China's treatment of MeToo activists like Huang and Wang Jianbing, who was also sentenced for sharing "defamatory" content, has been criticized by human rights organizations worldwide. Amnesty International, in particular, has called their conviction "entirely baseless" and demanded their immediate release, citing their right to freedom of speech.
The MeToo movement in China has faced significant backlash from the authorities, with activists like Huang and Wang being targeted and imprisoned. This harsh response to activism highlights the Chinese government's reluctance to address issues of sexual harassment and promote freedom of speech.
