China’s leading #MeToo activist, Sophia Huang Xueqin, has been sentenced to 5 years in prison after being found guilty of “incitement to subversion of state power” by the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court. Huang, a 35-year-old independent journalist, said she plans to appeal the sentence, according to her supporters. Labor activist Wang Jianbing, 40, who was also tried with Huang, was sentenced to 3 years and six months.
Detained by Chinese authorities since September 2021, the pair were put on trial last year, although they denied any wrongdoing during the trial held behind closed doors. The sedition charges were based on meetings the couple often held with young Chinese during which they discussed social issues. “Their efforts and dedication to work, women’s rights and civil society at large will not be undermined by this unjust process, nor will society forget their contributions. On the contrary, while oppression persists and injustice grows , more and more activists like them will continue to rise,” said the Free Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing group, which is mainly composed of activists based abroad. This morning, according to what emerged on social media, there was a strong presence of security forces around the Guangzhou Intermediate People’s Court. The charge of “incitement to subversion of state power” is often used by the Chinese government against dissidents and carries a maximum prison sentence of five years, but can be longer if the suspect is considered a ringleader or has committed serious crimes. The day before his arrest on September 19, 2021, Huang was due to fly to Britain to start a master’s degree at the University of Sussex on a scholarship funded by the British government. The activist, who covered China’s accusations of the #MeToo movement and the 2019 Hong Kong anti-government protests, was detained by Chinese police for three months in late 2019.
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