A Chinese tech giant has fired a woman who accused her manager of raping her in a further blow to the country’s #MeToo movement, which has fought censorship to seek accountability for sex abuse.
The ecommerce company Alibaba accused the woman of spreading false information, “triggering strong public attention” and bringing “negative impact” to the company.
A former Alibaba executive who lost his job over his handling of the case has now taken the woman to court with demands that she apologise publicly for defamation.
The employee, identified by her family name of Zhou, had unfurled a banner at a company canteen, distributed leaflets, spoke through a loudspeaker, and posted on an internal forum with the allegation that she was raped by her supervisor on a business trip.
She said her case demonstrated the risks of speaking out. “I will not appeal to other victims of sexual assault to come forth and share their stories, as doing so could cause them to suffer even more hurt,” Zhou told the Dahe Daily. “I hope that they can eventually walk out of their trauma and lead a normal and ordinary life.”
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Her case caused heated public debate when she first made the allegations in August. Public opinion was initially overwhelmingly on her side, but shifted after a police investigation revealed more details and exonerated the accused.
The police suggested that Zhou may have been a willing participant, revealing discrepancies over some key details in her account. That allowed detractors of the #MeToo movement to argue that it made men more vulnerable to trumped-up charges, overlooking the fact that police did detain a business client on suspicion of molestation. Zhou’s supervisor also received an administrative charge for molestation.
China’s justice system is believed to be inherently unfair to women, and Zhou’s allegation was allowed to circulate widely at the time. It resonated with the country’s female workers to such an extent that the public demanded a thorough investigation. The authorities, keen to rein in tech giants, obliged. The investigation exposed the toxic work culture prevalent in Chinese companies and prompted Alibaba to adopt a zero-tolerance policy against sexual harassment.
The case has been one of the most prominent in China’s #MeToo movement, which began in 2018 but faced a crackdown after Peng Shuai, a tennis star, accused a senior Chinese politician of sexual assault. Peng, 35, whose November 2 post has been removed and censored, is yet to speak out on her own. Beijing — with the help of the International Olympic Committee — said it would ensure her safety and wellbeing after widespread international concern.
Peng’s accusation was the first time the #MeToo movement had implicated a member of China’s political elite. Zhang Gaoli, 75, the accused, was on the Politburo’s seven-member standing committee until his 2017 retirement.
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State media have since moved to discourage further #MeToo allegations. A commentary in the state-run Hongxing News cautioned against exaggerations.
“In recent years, many brave women have stood up with their accounts of sexual harassment and discrimination at the workplace, helping to raise the public awareness to protect women’s rights,” it read. “But a few improper complaints or exaggerated claims have made the public less sympathetic with the cause against sexual assault.
“Similar incidents undoubtedly will squander the public sympathy with the victims, resulting in the ‘cry-wolf” effect.”
