Chinese students push back against Peking University as #MeToo activist accuses college of intimidation

Outspoken undergraduate says China’s top university is trying to silence her for demanding information about a sexual misconduct case that led to student’s 1998 suicide

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Campus security officers at Peking University tearing down posters put up in support of student and #MeToo activist Yue Xin on Monday. Photo: Twitter

Published: 11:00am, 25 Apr 2018Updated: 7:15pm, 25 Apr 2018

A public backlash has erupted on social media after a student accused China’s top university of trying to silence her for demanding information about the handling of a sexual misconduct case that led to a star pupil’s suicide 20 years ago.

Thousands of people vented their anger against the prestigious Peking University this week after Yue Xin, an undergraduate in the School of Foreign Languages, published a letter on Monday denouncing the college for trying to muzzle her by pressuring her family and threatening that she might not be allowed to graduate.

The backlash even prompted a response from the People’s Daily, the party’s official mouthpiece, urging calm on both sides.

Posters put up on the Peking University campus on Monday in support of student and #MeToo activist Yue Xin. They were soon taken down by security officials. Photo: Twitter

A set of three posters was also put up anonymously on campus information boards on Monday night, criticising the university for trying to silence Yue. The posters were removed by campus security within an hour, but photos of it had already gone viral online.

Yue is an activist in the growing #MeToo movement against sexual harassment on Chinese campuses and in workplaces.

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