April 14, 2015, 1:20am, Beijing. Wei Tingting, 26, one of the five feminist activists arrested for planning anti-sexual harassment public campaign before the International Women’s Day, was released on bail and picked up by her family from prison. News first came out through a collective Weibo account, “AntiPETD Feminist Doctors” Organization which live-broadcast the releasing process, and was confirmed by their representative lawyers. The rest of her compatriots were released on bail soon after.
The release of Wei marked the end of the government’s 37-day detention of the five feminists (known as the Beijing+20 Five): Li Tingting (Maizi), 25; Wu Rongrong, 30; Zheng Churan (Big Rabbit), 25; Wei Tingting, 26; and Wang Man, 33. However, according to observers and critics, it is far from the beginning of real freedom.
Liang Xiaojun and Wang Qiushi, the feminists’ lawyers, said the release on bail does not indicate the repeal of the case. The investigation continues as the police now pursue new charges against the five, changing from “picking quarrels” to the more severe “organizing crowds to disturb public order,” both of which if confirmed, can lead to a five-year sentence in prison.
The Five were still regarded as suspected criminals “though without legal evidence“ and lived under strict home surveillance by local police. Their laptops and mobile phones were confiscated upon arrest and never returned. Ms. Wu Rongrong reported that she was interrogated by secret police from Beijing on April 23rd and 24th and almost suffered “a nervous breakdown” during the humiliating and threatening process.
Many observers believed that the release is nothing but a temporary retreat of the Chinese government under international and domestic pressure rather than a fundamental change in the attitudes towards human rights issues.
Several US politicians, including Hillary Rodham Clinton, Ambassador Samantha Power and John Kerry, condemned China’s extralegal detention of the five as “inexcusable” and called upon their immediate release. Their voices were considered extremely crucial for the feminists’ conditional release.
The purpose of detention is mainly deterrence of the civil society…Without international attention, the probability of release is about 60% or 70%. But with intensive media coverage and international pressure, the probability of release may increase to 80% or 90%, according to their lawyer, Liang Xiaojun.
The purpose of detention is mainly deterrence of the civil society…Without international attention, the probability of release is about 60% or 70%. But with intensive media coverage and international pressure, the probability of release may increase to 80% or 90%,according to their lawyer, Liang Xiaojun.
However, civil society was not entirely silenced by the arrests. Despite the Internet censorship over the incident, news was circulated online and an encrypted petition was signed by over 1,000 sympathizers. The Facebook group Free Chinese Feminists attracted over 4,600 followers, many of which posted their own pictures in support of the Feminist Five’s release.
The crackdown of the Feminist Five reveals the conflict between China’s pronounced legal reform and its government’s increasing suspicion and hostility towards an emerging civil society. Many scholars evaluate the incident negatively. Professor Wang Zheng, a historian of gender studies from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, described the detention before the International Women’s Day as “so stupid.” She said, “when you detain feminists on the eve of International Women’s Day, you not only trample over the basic national policy of gender equality, you also provoke the international feminists.” She also pointed out the apolitical nature of the Five’s activism. The detention busted the bottom line. These young women didn’t organize a political party, nor are they against the communist party, nor did they engage in separatism. They did not do anything that can be accused of threatening your regime. They were defending women’s rights safeguarded by the law. It is a turning point for women’s rights in China when these activities are outlawed.
The crackdown of the Feminist Five reveals the conflict between China’s pronounced legal reform and its government’s increasing suspicion and hostility towards an emerging civil society.
Li Yinhe, the noted sociologist specializing in gender studies, described how the detention of the five was, “increasingly absurd,” given China’s relatively good reputation in protecting women’s rights. She also emphasized the feminists’ intended action was purely legal and in correspondence to the official ideology of gender equality. “Not all collective actions will lead to social disturbance,” Li questioned, “Why bother to stop them? If such trivial things like anti-sexual harassment campaigns need to be regulated, ruling China must be a mission impossible. How many police forces are wasted on this?Do they ever take the already high governance expenditure into account?
Why bother to stop them? If such trivial things like anti-sexual harassment campaigns need to be regulated, ruling China must be a mission impossible. How many police forces are wasted on this?Do they ever take the already high governance expenditure into account?
Ultimately, many observers believe that the crackdown is not narrowly targeted at feminists but part of the government’s new systematic strategy towards NGOs and grassroots activists. The anti-discrimination NGO, Beijing Yirenping Center, was raided by the police on March 25th for its close ties with the feminists and advocacy for their release. One of the founders of Yirenping, Lu Jun, perceived the raid and arrests of the Five as not, “isolated, incidental events,” but were on a continuum of clampdowns on non-governmental organizations that intensified one year ago.
Maya Wang, researcher for Human Rights Watch, says that China’s control over the civil society will further tighten once the new Foreign NGO Law is approved. The draft law requires all foreign NGOs to submit for approval annual work plans and funding allocations, restrict their reception of foreign funding, and prohibits them from engaging in activities that “endanger…national security, unity and solidarity.” This “differentiated management” of NGOs “punishing some but co-opting others” seems to be the latest regime-preserving strategy, says Wang.
The popularity of civil activism, as these initiated by the feminists, reflects an increasing unwillingness to surrender the public space to the government. Demonization and criminalization of the young activists does not solve the CCP's legitimacy challenges but creates new problems: eventually it will make an enemy of every segment of civil society.
The Feminist Five incident signals the Xi Administration’s resolution to constrain NGO activism and a burgeoning civil society. The conditional release does not mark the end of the story. However, whether these regime-preserving measures are effective and sustainable in the long-run remains a question. The popularity of civil activism, as these initiated by the feminists, reflects an increasing unwillingness to surrender the public space to the government. Demonization and criminalization of the young activists does not solve the CCP’s legitimacy challenges but creates new problems: eventually it will make an enemy of every segment of civil society.
Image from Wikipedia.
Ran Lu (Instagram: @lachesisdeneige)
