China: #Metoo Journalist Jailed for Five Years
The Facts
Sophia Huang Xueqin, a prominent figure in the PRC's #MeToo movement, has been handed a five-year jail sentence after being found guilty on charges of "inciting subversion of state power" by a court in southern China on Friday.
The Guangzhou Intermediate People's Court also sentenced labor activist Wang Jianbin, who stood trial with Huang, to three years and six months in prison on the same charge.
The Spin
These convictions are arbitrary, malicious, and unjust. Beijing is trying to penalize and silence civil society activists for reporting ground-breaking stories about sexual abuse victims, misogyny, and sexism at Chinese universities and workplaces. The PRC is viewing activism as a national security crime and imposing criminal charges for deeds that don't challenge government authority in a vile attempt to decimate social activism.
Sophia and Wang published distorted and inflammatory articles on foreign social media platforms and organized gatherings to incite youth dissatisfaction toward the government, which could create challenges to political stability in China. The PRC is a country of the rule of law, and any attempt by the agents of hostile Western forces to smear its judicial sovereignty in the name of human rights will not succeed.
