Feminism

The Chinese government on Saturday has promised to revise a draft bill on issuing “green cards” to foreigners after the proposal unleashed a wave of online xenophobia. China has one of the world’s strictest permanent residency programs, but many citizens say they don’t want more immigrants, especially black people, to settle in the country. Millions of angry comments have flooded Chinese social media to protest against a plan that Beijing said was meant to attract more foreign talent to boost the economy. “I’m worried about black people and Islam,” David Zhu, a 33-year-old banker in Shanghai, told Inkstone, calling black people “uncivilized” and Islam “a cancer.” “You can tell from the exper

Chinese state media reports heaping praise on women nurses for their sacrifices in the fight against the coronavirus epidemic are backfiring online, with social media users and academics dismissing them as propaganda and “humiliating.” State broadcaster CCTV led the charge last week, describing a nurse who was in her last month of pregnancy as “a great mother and angel in a white gown” because she had continued to work in the emergency ward of a hospital in Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak in central China. Zhao Yu was due to give birth in 20 days when the report aired, and apparently insisted she should remain on duty at a hospital overwhelmed with virus patients. Although her colleague

As the number of coronavirus patients has continued to climb, medical workers in the heart of the outbreak have had to avoid drinking and cross their legs to get through long shifts in their protective suits. But for the many women on the front line of China’s fight against the epidemic, they have also had to deal with menstruation, a need that some female medical professionals said is being overlooked by China’s decision makers. A group of women’s rights advocates is seeking to help by sending hundreds of thousands of pairs of disposable underwear designed for periods to hospitals in the central city of Wuhan, the epicenter of the outbreak. The goal is to help female hospital staff have mor

It is often presumed that government policies are the main factors determining birth patterns in China. This may not be the case anymore. By the end of 2015, China ended the controversial one-child policy, allowing couples to have two children. A baby boom was expected. But it hasn’t materialized and it is very unlikely that it will. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the birth rate in 2019 fell to 1.048, the lowest on record since the founding of the People’s Republic, except in 1961 when millions lost their lives in a widespread famine. After the Chinese Communist Party took power in 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong foolishly encouraged women to produce more children, believing that

Under Chinese law, unmarried women are not allowed to freeze their eggs for in vitro fertilization. Xu Zaozao, a 31-year-old single woman, says it is time to change the rules to give women more control over their bodies. Xu has filed a lawsuit against the hospital that denied her request to freeze her eggs. The case brought attention to the plight of women struggling to access IVF in China.

A Chinese government-run charity aimed at helping poverty-stricken girls finish their schooling has prompted an online outcry after it was found to be funding boys’ education as well.  Despite a growing awareness of gender equality in urban China, girls, especially those in rural areas, still lag behind in their access to education due to long-held favoritism toward sons. To help provide education for poor girls, the state-run China Children and Teenagers’ Fund launched the Spring Bud Project in 1989.  The project’s promotional materials have almost entirely featured women, and China’s first lady, Peng Liyuan, is the charity’s special ambassador. But social media users found this week that a

A Chinese professor has been sacked by a prominent university in Shanghai after a sexual assault allegation against him prompted public outrage.  Last weekend, a part-time graduate student at the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics accused the associate professor, 55-year-old Qian Fengsheng, of sexual assault.  In a detailed online post, the student said the professor had been sending her suggestive WeChat messages since September. On November 16, he offered to answer the student’s academic questions in his car – only to drive to a deserted road, where he allegedly locked the car, kissed her forcibly and sexually assaulted her, according to the post.  The 28-year-old student, who w

American teacher Kim Lee has been hailed as a role model for domestic violence victims in China since 2011, when she initiated divorce proceedings against her celebrity husband in a landmark case that made legal history.  But Lee’s status as a voice for abused women came under attack last week, when she said she had forgiven her ex-husband. “My [ex] husband is a flawed person. His violent acts are beyond doubt, illegal and wrong,” she wrote in a long post in Chinese on the Twitter-like Weibo on Thanksgiving.  “But he is also the one who smiled like a child while feeding goldfish… more importantly, he is the father of my three lovely daughters.” The post has gone viral and shocked internet u

A famed Chinese beauty blogger has ignited national debate about intimate partner violence after she posted a video purportedly showing herself being victimized.  “I am breaking the silence. I hope no woman will have to live with what I went through,” Yuya, who has about one million followers on China’s Twitter-like platform Weibo, wrote in a post on Monday.  Nov. 25 is the Day for the Elimination of Voilence against Women. A 28-year-old online celebrity elaborated a video to reveal violence of her ex-boyfriend, combining solid evidence and testimony of other women. This strong individual action already gets 120 million hits. pic.twitter.com/gqxd27MCvv — FreeChineseFeminists (@FeministChina)

China’s ride-hailing giant Didi Chuxing applied its carpooling “curfew” to all users on Thursday after the company was widely criticized for closing the service to female passengers after 8pm.  Didi said on Wednesday it would relaunch the UberPool-like service, named Hitch, later this month after the rape and murder of two female passengers, which plunged the company into crisis.  Didi had said it would begin a trial run starting in November in seven cities with improved safety features. Men would be able to use the carpooling service from 5am to 11pm, while women can access it from 5am to 8pm.  The earlier hour for women prompted outrage on social media. Gender equality advocates had called