China #MeToo: Intern versus TV star; court to hear landmark case today

Although China's record in punishing offenders in sexual harassment cases has been dismal, many believe this case involving a prominent TV host—accused of sexually harassing an intern—could prove a landmark case in deciding the future of #MeToo movement in China. 

The hearing will not be public. Zhou is presently studying in England. Zhou Xiaoxuan is also known online by her nickname Xianzi.

Zhou Xiaoxuan approached the local police in 2014 after the incident. But it took six years for it to reach the stage of hearing in court.

How did this happen?

According to Zhou, she was interning at China's state broadcaster CCTV in 2014 when high-profile TV host Zhu Jun sexually harassed her.

Police inaction

Zhou Xiaoxuan claims that when she approached police, they told her to drop the accusation because the accused TV star had a "positive impact" on the society.

Media attention

She narrated her ordeal on WeChat in 2018 which finally became viral and media started covering the story. She decided to share her horrible experience on social media after witnessing women raising their voices against sexual harassment in the wake of #MeToo movement.

Accused TV host Zhu has consistently denied all the allegations. He has even filed cases against the victim and her friend.

BBC reports that according to the Beijing Yuanzhong Gender Development Centre, a local NGO, among the more than 50 million publicly-available Chinese court verdicts between 2010 and 2017, only 34 were related to sexual harassment. Of those, just two were brought by victims suing alleged harassers - and both were dismissed eventually on the grounds of "lacking evidence".

Also Read: Chinese government planned Galwan incident, says US top panel