The bans target accounts that raised awareness about sexual harassment and women’s issues, as well as one that was critical of feminism.The social media platform also temporarily suspended an account called “Lucha Fayan Dashang”, which had over 650,000 followers. Weibo said that the account had “repeatedly posted vulgar and insulting remarks about the opposite sex, inciting hostility through inappropriate comparisons and malicious associations”. The suspended account had shared news articles relating to rape cases, domestic violence and sexual harassment, and had mocked Chinese authorities for their inadequate handling of these issues.

Another account that has been temporarily suspended appeared to be in a differen
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This user, posting under the handle “Yilidalei Zhi Nu”, is widely considered to be a radical nationalist. The account’s posts linked feminism to “foreign interference” and criticised Chinese women for questioning the privileged role of men in society. Weibo, which has over 250 million daily active users, pledged that it would “firmly crack down on any form of provocative behaviour that stirs up gender division” and urged users to “speak out rationally”

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In China, openly advocating for feminism and the rights of sexual minorities has become increasingly sensitive as authorities crack down on these activities, linking them to Western values and viewing them as harmful to addressing China’s demographic crisis.

Several famous feminist bloggers and university societies have already been banned from social media, with some advocates even jailed for subversion. However, gender-related topics such as the challenges faced by lower-income men in finding a spouse, reproductive harm to women, and the difficulty of obtaining evidence in sexual assault cases continue to spark widespread discussion on social media. Several gender-related incidents have sparked controversy in China in recent months, and the four accounts banned by Weibo on Monday were all involved in these discussions.
Since last month, online controversy has brewed over a sexual harassment case that occurred two years ago in the central city of Wuhan. A local court last month dismissed a lawsuit filed by a former Wuhan University student, surnamed Yang, saying that her allegations that another student, surnamed Xiao, had masturbated in front of her in a library and sexually harassed her two years ago were unfounded. This prompted Wuhan University to review its decision to punish Xiao two years ago and led to Yang being subjected to online abuse by some male social media users.
But supporters of Yang said her allegations were reasonable, arguing the court’s ruling was conservative and pointing to the insecurity felt by Chinese women in public spaces, as well as the difficulty of filing a lawsuit over sexual misconduct. Last month, the publicity department in the eastern province of Zhejiang accused two online stand-up comedy shows of attacking men and “stirring up gender antagonism” after female comedians discussed gender-related topics, especially the challenges faced by Chinese women, during their performances. Also last month, a university student in the northeastern province of Liaoning was expelled after reportedly having a one-night stand with a Ukrainian gamer last year. She was publicly shamed by some male social media users over the affair.