In China, a #MeToo Case Gets Its Day in Court docket

TAIPEI—A girl who filed a sexual-misconduct case against a well-identified TV host was cheered by crowds demonstrating their toughen for her and China’s fledgling #MeToo trip as a Beijing court docket heard her case on Wednesday.

The court docket adjourned with out a verdict around nighttime. It couldn’t make certain when the court docket would resume hearing the case.

Despite the uncertainty over how the case would unfold, the crew seemed energized as 27-year-stale Zhou Xiaoxuan emerged from the court docket, in step with video clips circulating on-line and of us on the scene. After roughly 11 hours of court docket cases had concluded, she acknowledged she would proceed to battle her case. Supporters who had waited all day in the frosty erupted in applause.

Ms. Zhou is accusing Zhu Jun, a bunch at inform broadcaster China Central Television and a family name in China, of forcibly groping and kissing her six years ago when she was interning for his program. Ms. Zhou says she reported the incident to the police the subsequent day nonetheless was urged to fall the case due to Mr. Zhu’s “obvious affect” on society.

In 2018, Ms. Zhou filed a civil suit against Mr. Zhu after her legend—in the foundation shared in a non-public social-messaging neighborhood—grew to alter into public. He has denied the claims, filing a defamation lawsuit against Ms. Zhou and Xu Chao, a girl who shared her legend with a wider on-line target audience on China’s Twitter -love social-messaging pickle Weibo. An effort to reach Ms. Xu by scheme of her Weibo legend wasn’t profitable.