Chinese journalist who promoted #MeToo movement sentenced to five years in prison

In this photo released by Free Huang Xueqin & Wang Jianbing, Chinese journalist Huang Xueqin holds up a #METOO sign for a photo in Singapore in Sept. 2017

Supporters say a Chinese journalist who promoted women’s rights as part of the country’s nascent #MeToo movement has been sentenced to five years in prison on charges of incitement to subvert state authority, almost three years after she and an activist were detained.

The verdict provided to The Associated Press stated that Huang Xueqin would also face a fine of 100,000 yuan ($14,000), underscoring the ruling Communist Party’s intolerance of any activism outside its control.

Huang’s release date was listed as Sept. 18, 2026, accounting for her earlier detention.

Co-defendant Wang Jianbing was sentenced to three years and six months on the same charge.

Wang is more known for his labor rights activity but also helped women report sexual harassment.

Huang and Wang’s cases appear to have become intertwined as part of the most recent wave of a general crackdown on rights advocates, a trend that predates the #MeToo movement and includes previous incidents such as the 2015 detentions of women distributing pamphlets against sexual harassment on public transport.

Working as an freelance journalist, Huang helped spark China’s first #MeToo case in 2018 when she publicized allegations of sexual harassment made by a graduate student against her Ph.D. supervisor at one of China’s most prestigious universities.

Friends say that Huang and Wang disappeared on Sept. 19, 2021, a day before Huang was scheduled to fly to the United Kingdom to start a master’s degree program on gender violence and conflict at the University of Sussex. They went on trial in September 2023.  MDT/AP