Censorship in the Age of China’s #MeToo Movement: The Case of Chinese Tennis Player Peng Shuai

Photographed by Andy Wong on January 5th, 2021.

In 2017, the #MeToo movement exploded across the internet. This movement, inspired by activist Tarana Burke, was sparked by an outpouring of sexual violence stories from women. In an effort to foster conversations about the intersection of gender and power, this movement quickly captured millions of Americans’ attention and led to widespread protests and marches demanding an end to sexual harassment and assault. Yet, this movement has barely made headlines in China. In fact, the #MeToo movement is not only missing from China’s mainstream media, but the hashtag and the Mandarin version “#woyeshi” are nowhere to be found on social media platforms. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is directly responsible for the censorship of women simply advocating and sharing their story of sexual assault. 

The CCP’s crackdown on the #MeToo movement spreads a clear message to its citizens: any type of public activism that criticizes the state or important figures will be suppressed. Maintaining the utopian image of China and the CCP government though heavy censorship will always take priority over any other issue. 

The CCP’s most recent effort to censor the #MeToo movement was highlighted in the disappearance and later reappearance of the professional Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai after she accused the former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli of sexual assault. On November 2nd, Peng posted the accusation on Weibo, China’s version of Twitter, towards Gaoli. Yet, her post was removed within minutes and sent the government scrambling to contain the accusation. Following the accusation, Peng went missing for 18 days, raising alarm bells from concerned Chinese citizens all the way to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA). Though Shuai’s story spread like wildfire, searches of her name and even the word “tennis” were blocked, underscoring the culture of censorship that the CCP has adopted to maintain a picture-perfect image and cement their strength domestically and internationally. 

China’s need to suppress Peng’s case can be attributed to their long standing practice of censorship. In addition to the #MeToo movement, the disappearance of Jack Ma in November 2020, after the billionaire openly criticized the Chinese financial system, reveals the extent to which China uses censorship to silence opposition and critiques towards the CCP. Given China’s action, it can be inferred that the CCP sees their long-standing custom of speech suppression as a means to control the country while also “dictating global narratives about China,” according to Suzanne Nossel of PEN America, a nonprofit organization that defends and advocates for free expression through literature and human rights. 

In the CCP’s view, it is necessary to silence Peng and divert the public eye from her case in order to maintain China’s image. Chairman Steve Simon of the WTA’s expressed extreme concern to Peng’s disappearance, and in return, announced the “immediate suspension” of tournaments in China and Hong Kong. 

In response to the WTA, the Chinese government accused the organization of “seriously coercing Peng” and stated they are “firmly opposed to acts politicizing sport.” The CCP blaming the WTA for expressing concern and taking action reveals how twisting the narrative is crucial in painting the government as perfect and morally righteous. Moreover, the opposition to bringing politics into the sports industry underscores the CCP’s vehement disdain for political debate. In fact, political debate and the expression of opposing ideas threatens President Xi Jinping’s and the CCP’s monopoly of control over the state. 

China’s relentless need to suppress Peng’s voice can also be seen in the prominent case of another Chinese woman, Zhou Xiaoxuan. As one of the most famous #MeToo cases, Zhou alleged that Zhu Jun, a well-known state broadcaster, groped and forcibly kissed her in 2014. A string of other accusations against a university professor followed Zhou’s outspokenness. Yet, despite these high-profile cases, the hashtag #woyeshi quickly disappeared, and authorities began censoring online discussions of sexual assault cases. Though Peng’s case has not developed into legal action between Zhang and herself, Zhou’s case against Zhu took years to conclude. In fact, the court canceled the hearing the day it was set to be held with no public explanation. Moreover, the sexual harassment charges against Zhu were entirely dismissed. 

The accumulation of these cases underscores the dilemma women continue to face in China: either privately hold on to their painful story or go public and risk immense backlash and slander. Either way, women who have been sexually assaulted or harassed remain unsafe and are left with few options. Even after China blocked the #MeToo hashtag, members of the movement resorted to alternative messaging, such as the Chinese translation of “me too” to “wo ye shi” and even a combination of emojis for a bowl of rice, mi in Mandarin, and a rabbit, tu in Mandarin, as a means to trick authorities into avoid censoring their slogan. 

As such, the CCP’s despicable action of suppressing women’s voices, and critics at large, shines a light on the grim prospect of China possibly becoming more authoritarian.

Evelyn Yu (CC’25) is a staff writer at CPR and a first year student looking to major in either neuroscience or political science. She currently serves as an Event Chair for the Columbia University Asian Pacific American Heritage Month (APAHM) club and dances with the Columbia University Ballet Ensemble (CUBE). You can find her taking up dance classes, exploring new coffee shops, writing, or just lounging on the steps with friends.