In June 2021, Sophia Huang Xueqin was awarded a prestigious Chevening scholarship and was meant to be starting her master鈥檚 degree on Gender Violence And Conflict at the University of Sussex in September that same year. However, on the way to the airport to catch her flight to the UK, Sophia and fellow labour activist Wang Jianbing 'vanished'.
Seven months after Sophia鈥檚 disappearance, in the documentary, China鈥檚 Silenced Feminist, 大象传媒 Eye investigates what happened to Sophia, how her story is being erased by Chinese state censors, and how a disinformation campaign is being played out online against her. The 大象传媒 also asks why, in the UK where Sophia should be studying on a British government scholarship, there鈥檚 been silence.
In China, tens of thousands of individuals are being rounded up and questioned in a wider state crackdown on activists. Feminists who continue to speak out are forced to remain anonymous. Many like Sophia and Jianbing, who are advocating for gender rights and other social causes, have been framed as agents of 鈥渉ostile western forces鈥� and received attacks online by nationalist trolls.
The 大象传媒 gained exclusive access to other former female detainees who agreed to speak on the condition of anonymity. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no offline campaigns anymore鈥� the political atmosphere has become very nervous.鈥�
Former Weibo censor, Liu Lipeng, gave the 大象传媒 a rare interview where he breaks down the state鈥檚 censorship apparatus and reveals Beijing鈥檚 disinformation campaign against Sophia: 鈥淥n the Chinese internet, it鈥檚 difficult to differentiate between a state internet commentator and an ordinary user,鈥� Liu said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a scary phenomenon.鈥� Weibo did not respond to the 大象传媒鈥檚 request for comment.
The 大象传媒 also talks to Li Maizi, a prominent Chinese feminist, who was detained ahead of International Women鈥檚 Day in 2015 for attempting to hand out stickers protesting sexual harassment on public transport: 鈥淚n the past [sexual harassment and violence] was covered. The #MeToo movement provided a venue for people to speak out.鈥�
When Huang鈥檚 disappearance was first reported, the University of Sussex and Chevening released the following statement: 鈥淲e are concerned about the safety and whereabouts of our student. Our staff are liaising with Chevening to seek further details.鈥� But since then, neither have published further statements.
In an email leaked to the 大象传媒, following the 大象传媒鈥檚 requests for comment, students and staff at the University of Sussex were warned not to discuss Sophia鈥檚 situation. The university told the 大象传媒 that because this was a sensitive matter, media requests should be dealt with by the press office, citing data protection concerns. Supporters of Sophia and Jianbing accuse the university and Chevening of not speaking out for fear of antagonising the Chinese government. Students from China make up a fifth of international enrolment at the university, and their tuition fees - along with partnerships with Chinese institutions - provide an important revenue stream.
Responding to the 大象传媒, a spokesperson said the university 鈥渞emains deeply concerned about the safety and whereabouts of its prospective student鈥� and has been in 鈥渞egular contact鈥� with Chevening and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
The spokesperson added that the university has followed the advice of the FCDO - which told the 大象传媒 it was 鈥渇ollowing the matter closely鈥�. Chevening did not respond to the 大象传媒鈥檚 requests for comment.
The 大象传媒 reveals that Sophia and Jianbing were detained in secret locations known as 'black jails' where they were held in solitary confinement without access to lawyers and outside world. At least 70 of their supporters were questioned and interrogated by the Guangzhou National Police. Now, Sophia and Jianbing are being held on charges of 'inciting subversion of state power' - a serious charge which could see them facing years behind bars. Their cases have been handed over to prosecutors in China, and both are expected to face trial soon.
The documentary, China鈥檚 Silenced Feminist, is now available via 大象传媒 platforms: 大象传媒 iPlayer (available only in the UK), 大象传媒 News YouTube (worldwide, except the UK), the websites bbc.co.uk and bbc.com/news, and on 大象传媒 News Chinese. The documentary will air on the 大象传媒鈥檚 international news channel, 大象传媒 World News, on 28 May.
Reporter: Jessie Lau
Producers: Riddhi Jha, Jessie Lau, and Manisha Ganguly
Executive producers: Daisy Ayliffe and Mustafa Khalili
Editor: Marc Perkins
LN