I am a Master of Philosophy student doing research at Baptist University on gender issues in China and wish to comment on the recent arrests of feminists on the mainland. International Women's Day is celebrated on March 8 every year. This year, on the mainland, officials marked it, in advance (on March 6), by detaining five prominent young female activists - Li Tingting, Wei Tingting, Wang Man, Wu Rongrong and Zheng Churan. It was reported they were arrested because they planned to distribute some anti-sex-harassment stickers on March 7 in the areas where they lived. Why couldn't a country that advocates women as being equal with men and in Mao Zedong's words, holding up "half the sky", allow these female activists to express their opinions? The reason the authorities acted as they did is not because of what the women were calling for, but the way they were doing it. Action was taken against them because they do not represent state feminism. This is a form of feminism that is initiated or approved by the government. Western feminism seeks to involve women from all walks of life and is therefore a bottom-up movement. The kind sanctioned by the central government is a trickle-down process overseen by the Communist Party. It is seen as a paternalistic, male protector of women's rights and interests. Its mouthpiece is the All-China Women's Federation, with its headquarters and local branches controlled by the party. When founded in 1949, its mission was to fight for women's rights. Later, this was extended to the rights of children. While its strength may come from its support from the state, this is also an inherent weakness, as women's interests and rights must be subordinate to the state's interests. So, for example, it is highly unlikely that the rights of sexual minorities would be discussed by the federation or put on the agenda of any conference it organised. The young female activists who were detained take a bottom-up approach, and more importantly some of them have founded non-governmental organisations or joined one that might be considered illegitimate in the Chinese context. Thus, unfortunately, regardless of their mild demands, which they call for in a peaceful manner and which could not be seen as threatening in any way, they are nevertheless considered a threat in the country. Ling Tang, Kowloon Tong
