The CCP has tacitly encouraged cyber bullying of Chinese feminists to prevent the movement from gaining ground.
By Zhuoran Li
PhD Candidate in China Studies
Research Assistant, School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Johns Hopkins University
By Jennifer Lee
Fellow
Scowcroft Group
As the overturning of Roe v. Wade sparks outrage in the United States, on the other side of the world, feminism has become one of the most provocative topics in Chinese social discourse. Multiple tragedies in 2022 – from the chained woman in Xuzhou who suffered human trafficking and rape to young women in Tangshan being violently assaulted, and rumored killed, by thugs who sexually harassed them – trended as hot topics on Chinese social media. However, these discussions inevitably spiraled into gender conflicts. Behind the nasty words and rampant cyberbullying, one can find the invisible hand of the Chinese government.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) claims gender equality as one of its most outstanding achievements; Mao Zedong famously declared that “women can hold up half of the sky.” The CCP abolished cruel traditions such as foot-binding and granted women equal rights as citizens and “the owner of the new society.” For Mao, women, who were oppressed by “feudal Confucian rules,” were the natural allies and audience of his revolution.
However, as the CCP rules through a highly patriarchal political system, feminism gradually became an alternative source of mobilization that threatened the party’s rule. Feminism has the potential to become the CCP’s worst nightmare: a social movement that transforms Chinese social and political structure in the long run.
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