A prominent female# MeToo activist in China received a five-year prison sentence for” subversion against the state.”
Almost 10 weeks after her test, Sophia Huang Xueqin was found guilty and given a sentence on Friday.
Labour advocate Wang Jianbing, who stood trial with Ms Huang, was sentenced to three years and six months in prison.
Ms Huang, 36, had been one of the most popular tones in China’s# MeToo area, reporting surface- breaking stories about sexual abuse victims.
She had likewise made a statement about the discrimination and sexism in Chinese newsrooms.
Taiwanese officials have not established the relationship between the two people who are accused of subterfuge. The test was a shut- door hearing.
However, their supporters claim that because they held standard discussions and forums for younger people to discuss social issues, they were detained.
When Ms. Huang was detained at the Guangzhou aircraft in 2021, she was about to enroll in a UK-funded master’s program at the University of Sussex.
Mr Wang, 40, was with her at that moment.
Supporters say both have endured months of solitary confinement during their pre-detention custody, which lasted for nearly 1,000 days. Their trial only began in September 2023.
A BBC Eye investigation in 2022 found that both were being held in solitary confinement, detained in secret locations known as ‘black jails’.
Chinese government retaliated against a number of activists working in various fields in 2021 as a result of Covid lockdowns and growing public outcry.
” Their efforts and dedication to labour, women’s rights, and the broader civil society wo n’t be negated by this unjust trial, nor will society forget their contributions”, said the campaign group Free Huang Xueqin and Wang Jianbing.
” On the contrary, as tyranny endures and injustice grows, more campaigners like them may continue to rise”.
The convictions were described by Amnesty International as “malicious and utterly unfounded.”
According to Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks, “[They ] demonstrate how terrified the Chinese government is of the emerging wave of activists who dare to speak out to defend the rights of others.”
The Chinese authorities have attempted to do the exact opposite by phasing out the sexual violence in this instance, despite the fact that# MeToo activism has empowered survivors of it all over the world.
If the pair’s already-served period is used to reduce their statement, it is not known.
Previous people outcrying Ms. Huang’s case, while others who are opposed to the feminist movement praised it.
Some Chinese activists choose to be private online for sex rights and social factors.
State advertising and separatists frequently accuse them of being “agents of angry western makes.”