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American Military News
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- American Military News
Chinese police crackdown on writers of online erotic fiction
This article was originally published by Radio Free Asia and is reprinted with permission. Police in northwestern China are cracking down on writers of online erotic fiction across the country, including many college students,according to RFA sources and media reports, amid concern that officers are punishing people outside their jurisdiction. Police in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, have been summoning writers who don't even live there. A report from Caixin media group said some have been referred to police for prosecution, and anecdotal evidence indicates writers are facing substantial fines. A source who spoke to Radio Free Asia on condition of anonymity for safety reasons said the crackdown could involve 200-300 writers. Their cases have also sparked a legal debate over the definition of 'obscene materials' and renewed public discussion on the boundaries of creative freedom. Known as 'Danmei,' the genre features romantic relationships between male characters. It originated in Japan and has become popular in China. Amid tightened restrictions in China, many writers have turned to Haitang Culture, a Taiwanese-based adult fiction website established in 2015 to publish their work. The website on the democratic island doesn't force censorship and allows explicit written content. Most readers are females. Authorities in China have reacted. Last year, two China-based distributors affiliated with Haitang Culture were arrested for 'assisting in information network criminal activities,' according to Shuiping Jiyuan, a news portal on the WeChat social media platform. The recent police crackdown in Lanzhou followed similar moves in the eastern province of Anhui in June 2024, where authorities began arresting writers of online erotic fiction under the charge of 'producing and distributing obscene materials for profit,' resulting in heavy fines and even prison sentences. Police are seeking out writers even when they leave outside their jurisdiction – a practice that critics call 'offshore fishing,' implying the motive of police is financial or political, rather than strictly legal. 'I don't understand what they're trying to do—are they pushing political correctness, or are they just desperate for money?' said Liu Yang, a veteran media professional in Lanzhou, told Radio Free Asia. 'The police are short on funds, and now even arrests have become a way to make money.' Cases in Anhui appeared focused on how much profit writers made. But according to multiple Chinese media reports, police in Lanzhou pursued suspects on the basis of what sort of traffic they were generating. Many of those summoned are young women, including college students. A well-known Chinese online cultural critic Li Yuchen wrote on WeChat that one writer who received only 'two Haitang coins' in tips was also placed under investigation and then moved to prosecutors. Haitang refers to the Taiwan-based fiction website. RFA has sought comment from Haitang Culture but has yet to receive a response. Song Tao, a Chinese university law lecturer, told RFA that Lanzhou police crackdown is one of the most expansive and controversial uses of the law on 'producing, reproducing, publishing, or distributing obscene materials for profit' in recent years. Tsinghua University legal scholar Lao Dongyan expressed concern on the Chinese microblogging platform Weibo, writing that the use of inconsistent legal standards risks undermining law enforcement and the justice system. The case has triggered intense debate in Chinese legal circles. Several attorneys have posted on Weibo and WeChat offering free legal assistance to the families of those who have been detained. The Emperor's Scandalous History Yunjian, one of the top writers on Haitang Culture, was arrested last year by Anhui police and later sentenced to four years and six months in prison, according to the news portal Shuiping Jiyuan. One of Yujian's top works of fiction, The Emperor's Scandalous History , is about a non-binary emperor who has relationships with male characters, including generals and chancellors. Several fiction writers have posted online about their brush with Lanzhou police, although most online references to the crackdown have been removed from Chinese social media platforms, meaning only screenshots made by other users are still viewable. 'Probably in the past 20 years of my life, I never imagined that my first time flying would be to visit a police station in Lanzhou,' said one writer named Sijindesijin who claimed in a post on Weibo that she'd been contacted by Lanzhou police over stories she earned 4,000 yuan ($670) for. Her post, since deleted, implied that she'd had to fly to Lanzhou to deal with the matter. It wasn't clear where she lived. Some netizens posted on Weibo in support of Sijindesijin, whose handle translates as 'silky silky.' RFA couldn't reach Sijindesijin for comment or confirm the details of what allegedly happened and if the writer was detained. Another writer named Jidepihuangmajia, who described herself as an undergraduate student, wrote in a post on Weibo that she flew to Lanzhou from Chongqing, a municipality which is administratively separate from Lanzhou, to meet with the local police and was asking for help from other users in borrowing money to pay the fine. The writer said that police claimed she had earned 21,313 yuan ($3,044) from writing the stories in question, and she was advised to return the money for a reduced punishment. This writer owed between 50,000 and 60,000 yuan ($7,100 to $8,500), including the fine. Another writer from a top-tier university named Shijieshiyigejudadejingshenbingyuanha, whose handle translates as 'The world is like a giant mental hospital,' claimed in the post that she was taken in for questioning by police and that her university had subsequently canceled her admission to graduate school. Chinese lawyer Ma Guoguang told RFA that under China's Criminal Procedure Law, criminal cases should be investigated by police in the suspect's place of residence or where the alleged crime occurred. 'The legality of Lanzhou police pursuing writers across the country—thousands of kilometers away—under the so-called 'offshore fishing' model is highly questionable,' he said. But Chinese lawyer Tang Hongyang, who defended for several writers arrested by Anhui police last year, explained to Sanlian Lifeweek, an in-depth reporting magazine in China, 'for crimes committed via the internet, there is a special legal provision: any location where the content can be accessed online is considered a place where the consequences of the crime occur.' According to Sanlian Lifeweek, Lanzhou police summoned local readers of Haitang in Lanzhou to serve as witnesses while also summoning writers from other provinces. Ma pointed out that China currently lacks clear judicial interpretations on fictional literary works containing explicit content. According to him, the line between online erotic fiction or adult fiction and actual obscene materials remains undefined, as does the legal threshold for what constitutes 'public harm.' The main guidelines of definition of obscene materials date back more than 20 years and were established when the internet was far less developed. Tsinghua University's Lao argued that the definition should evolve with shifting social attitudes. 'They set relatively low thresholds for what constitutes 'serious circumstances',' Lao wrote in her post. 'But in today's more open environment, the bar for what qualifies as obscenity should clearly be raised.' Ma warned that aggressive criminal enforcement under such vague standards could have a chilling effect on creative writing in China. RFA contacted Lanzhou police but calls went unanswered.
ABC News
11-06-2025
- ABC News
Police in China arrest female authors of homosexual novels in crackdown on 'boys love' fiction genre
Female writers have been summoned by police for posting and sharing homosexual romance stories online, in a widespread crackdown on the 'boys love' genre in China. If convicted, they could be subjected to detention, financial penalties, and even prison sentences. Many of the targeted writers published their work on Haitang, a Taiwanese website popular with fans of boys love fiction — a genre that features romantic relationships between male characters, often depicting sex scenes. Some of them have been documenting their experiences on Chinese social media. A university student who goes by their pen name Sijindejin said she was served a notice in May to present herself at a local police station in Gansu province — about 970km away from her village in Chengdu. Sijindejin, who says she grew up in a "poor village", bought the cheapest flight available and took her first plane trip to comply. According to Chinese laws, police in any part of the country who claim they have received complaints about an individual can call them in for questioning. Having only made 4,000 yuan ($857) after writing for years, Sijindejin said she never knew it could be a crime. "I thought I could write my way out of the orbit of my destiny, and I thought I was writing my future, but I didn't realise that that future pointed to prison," Sijindejin wrote in her social media post. Another writer also summoned by police expressed her similar shock. "I'd never expected this day to come, to be hit in the face with every word I've written in the past," the anonymous writer said in a post on social media platform Weibo in late May. "I love each of my books, and I see the books and each of the characters in them as my children, even when they are called sinful." Writers of the boys love genre are mainly female, and it appears many of the targeted writers are also university students unable to afford legal representation. Three lawyers, representing some of the writers, also posted about the crackdown, noting the scale of action has been widespread, with estimates that at least 100 writers have been affected. Radio Free Asia reported that police in remote north-western Gansu province have called in dozens of writers, with some subsequently being detained, fined, or charged with offences that could result in prison terms. While the reason for the recent suppression is unclear, it is not the first time writers of the boys love genre have been targeted. Last year, local police in Anhui province summoned several writers over the alleged offence of disseminating obscene content. Some had their earnings from subscriber payments confiscated, and were also convicted and sentenced to prison. China last updated its laws on "digitally obscene" content in 2010. Those regulations said the "production, reproduction, publication, trafficking, dissemination" of any obscene works that generate more than 5,000 clicks online, or that make profits more than 5,000 yuan ($1,072), should be treated as a crime. In 2018, writer Liu Yuanyuan was fined and sentenced to 10 years in prison for publishing her novel Occupy, a boys love fiction that contained content deemed as obscene. The novel generated more than 150,000 yuan ($32,200) in profits. Elsa, a boys love fiction writer who doesn't want to use her real name, said it was unreasonable and ignorant to treat all boys love fiction as obscene. She said she didn't understand why only homosexual love writing was being targeted. Homosexuality is not illegal in China, but gay couples cannot get married in the country. "No matter if it's love and sexuality in reality or in a fictional world, people should respect differences," Elsa said. "People are all discussing whether the sentencing was too harsh and whether it's appropriate to use dated standards to trial today's cases." The crackdown has sparked backlash across China, with many people questioning the motives behind the police summons and severity of punishments. On Chinese social media, people have accused police of "offshore fishing" — a phrase that refers to local police who have allegedly summoned suspects from other parts of the country for questioning for financial gain. The phrase "offshore fishing" was censored last week on social media platforms in China, including Weibo and WeChat. Haitang, the website popular with fans of boys love fiction, has also been suspended until July 8. A spokesperson for Haitang said they were working on improving their services. Tang Hongyang, a lawyer who represented several writers of the boys love genre last year, said the situation was getting worse. But Beijing-based lawyer Zhang Dongshuo disagreed, saying the government may not be chasing profits. "It seems that they have detained writers from poor family backgrounds who haven't made much money as well," Mr Zhang told the ABC. Mr Zhang said authorities may have restarted the crackdown on boys love fiction because it was seen as unfavourable to China's new policies in raising fertility rates. "Officials may think that these cases can eliminate the social influence [of homosexual love stories] and give young people a more 'positive' sexual orientation, and in a way promote fertility rates," he said. Mr Zhang explained that China's fertility rates were dropping and many young people were opting out of marriage. Despite this, he believes China's law on digitally obscene content should be updated to reflect the new social reality. Professor Wang Pan, who studies Chinese social media and pop culture at the University of New South Wales, said boys love fiction became a target of censorship and crackdown as it gained popularity in China. She said the crackdown on boys love fiction was not just a blow to China's LGBT community, but also a blow to writers' freedom. "The market and influence of boys love fiction has been expanding in recent years, and is sought after by more and more young people, especially women," Professor Wang said. "The authors, who were the targets of criminal detention, were mostly female subculture content creators. They were underprivileged and earned some meagre fees and reward payments for their writing." Professor Wang said the recent crackdown showed the government was expanding its scope of surveillance over the subculture and further restricting freedom of speech. The Chinese government has been contacted for comment. Elsa, the boys love fiction writer, said she felt sad for her peers who have been detained for writing boys love fiction. "It's impossible not to feel anxious and disappointed," she said. "I am not in the zone for writing at the moment and will stop for a while, but I'll not give up writing. "For those who didn't depict many sex scenes in their book and didn't make much money, it's really unfair for them to get criminal records for just publishing their stories on Haitang."
