When a former intern at China’s state broadcaster wrote in July about being groped and forcibly kissed by one of the country’s most recognizable television
BEIJING – When a former intern at China’s state broadcaster wrote in July about being groped and forcibly kissed by one of the country’s most recognizable television stars, her story ignited a social media firestorm in a country where a backlash against sexual harassment was growing.
Now her case is set to go before the Chinese legal system.
The 25-year-old former intern said she had been informed Tuesday by a court in Beijing’s Haidian district that she was being sued in a civil case for damaging Zhu Jun’s reputation and mental well-being.
Also named in the suit was Xu Chao, a friend who had been championing the case online. At her request, Reuters is withholding the name of the accuser and identifying her by her online name, Xianzi.
Zhu is demanding that the two women apologize online and in a national newspaper, pay compensation of 655,000 yuan ($95,254.72) and cover the costs of legal fees for the case, according to a copy of the filing seen by Reuters.
Descriptions of Zhu forcibly kissing and groping Xianzi were “pure fiction” and had caused “grave damage” to Zhu’s public image and his mental health, according to the filing, which was dated Sept. 18 and is not available to the public.
In response, Xianzi applied to file her own civil suit against Zhu on Tuesday for “infringement of personality rights,” she said. Personality rights is a broad term used within Chinese law to refer to personal dignity rights, but does not specifically mention sexual harassment.
“I decided that you have to use the law to prove what you said happened,” Xianzi said on Wednesday.
Zhu, 54, whose lawyers have publicly denied the allegations, did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Zhu’s lawyer issued a statement earlier this month saying he had sued the two women. Reached by telephone, Xu confirmed the filing of the lawsuit.
