(Beijing) A Chinese court on Wednesday rejected an appeal by a plaintiff in a high-profile sexual harassment case in China, considered the first “#metoo” case in the country’s history.
Posted at 1:28 p.m.
Zhou Xiaoxuan, 29, in 2018 accused a star presenter, Zhu Jun, of forcibly kissing and caressing her when she was a trainee four years earlier at state broadcaster CCTV.
At first instance in September 2021 and after three years of legal battle, a Beijing court had rejected her complaint, considering that there was not enough evidence, which led her to appeal.
But a Beijing court rejected that appeal on Wednesday, also saying there was not enough evidence.
The court said it “rejected all of Zhou’s appeals” and confirmed “the previous judgment”.
The young woman’s accusations had triggered an avalanche of similar testimonies on social networks, like the #metoo movement to denounce sexual harassment in Western countries.
The complainant arrived early Wednesday afternoon at the Beijing court in charge of the hearing.
“I still feel a little scared and depressed,” she said. “The first trial was like a second deep wound.”
The police had cordoned off part of the sidewalk facing the court and officers were checking the identities of passers-by, AFP journalists noted.
A small group of supporters were present, holding “#metoo” signs and balloons wishing him “good luck” in Chinese.
“Four years have passed, and the most important thing is that we have raised this question: when a woman faces sexual harassment in a closed space, is it worth caring about her pain? Zhou Xiaoxuan told the group.
“We may not have the answer today, but what matters is that the question was asked,” she added.
Before the hearing, she said her lawyers would try to get access to more evidence, such as police transcripts of interviews with her parents after the incident and CCTV footage.
The accused, who did not attend any of the hearings, had sued the complainant for defamation, but the latter said she had no news on the subject.
“Winning is not what is important to me…I accept this outcome,” Zhou said after the hearing. What is important for her, she explained, is that she was able to make her statement in court.
” Really hard ”
Zhou Xiaoxuan, who also presents himself under the pseudonym Xianzi, demanded a public apology as well as damages of 50,000 yuan (7,200 euros).
The first hearing in this case, in December 2020, drew an unusual crowd outside the court. The police had arrested foreign reporters, including from AFP.
“The way my case went was really tough,” Zhou Xiaoxuan said.
“I fear that other victims are afraid to stand up for their rights after seeing what I have been through,” she said. But, after this affair, “perhaps the next victim who will go to trial will be more believed”.
The complaint was initially filed in the name of bodily harm, but the plaintiff’s lawyers then tried to reformulate it on the basis of a new anti-harassment law passed in 2020.
Despite this legislation, Chinese women are generally reluctant to report harassment and few cases end up in court.
The #metoo movement has stagnated in China since 2018, when women released testimonies accusing university professors of sexual harassment.
Fearing an uncontrolled mass movement, censors controlling the internet quickly blocked hashtags and keywords relating to cases of sexual harassment on social networks.