A feminist statement on the pre-trial agreement in the Jingyao v. Liu Qiangdong case: “Reconciliation” is victory, please continue to unite with us

On October 2, 2022, local time, the Minneapolis Court issued a statement on the civil case of Jingyao v. Liu Qiangdong for sexual assault, the main content of which was that Jingyao and Liu Qiangdong reached a pre-trial agreement. (Full translation at the end of the article)

This is a historic moment. Looking back at the past four years of the MeToo movement in China, this pre-trial agreement is of extraordinary significance - it is the result of Jingyao and feminists' four-year struggle , and it is also a lock on the facts that Liu Qiangdong and JD.com have always denied, and an admission that Liu Qiangdong concealed the truth. If he is really innocent, how could Liu Qiangdong give up the lawsuit? After all, whether in terms of financial resources, lawyers, or media resources, Liu Qiangdong has an overwhelming advantage. He is worth $11 billion, has a luxurious and expensive lawyer team, a public relations company, and is enough to buy off domestic media to stand up for him.

We would like to express our concern and congratulations to Jingyao as soon as possible, and express our gratitude to the unknown volunteers who have devoted their endless energy in the four years since the case was exposed. This is our common victory. At the beginning of the case, we promised to accompany Jingyao to the last step. But now is far from the end of our support for Jingyao, let alone the end of our voice for MeToo.

Embrace Jingyao and understand her choice

In this case, reaching a pre-trial agreement may be Jingyao's best option, and it is also her right. By advancing the judicial process in the United States, Jingyao has fought for an open result. She could have accepted a private "settlement" when the case occurred in 2018, but she chose to make it public and contribute her efforts to the MeToo movement. In the past four years, we have witnessed the hardships Jingyao has endured in the judicial process and the public opinion field. We are glad that she does not need to endure a higher intensity of torture during the trial stage for an unknown result, and endure endless attacks and condemnations outside the court.

During the course of the case, she confessed herself and told her experiences, which opened up a public space for other women, allowing us to explore important issues such as the misogynistic system, drinking culture, rape culture, and the hunting of women by transnational capital, and spread feminist discourse on a wide scale.

In 2018, feminism promoted the idea of ​​"refusing to be harsh on victims" . Today, feminists once again interpret it with actions - not requiring victims to be perfect, not judging victims, not expecting them to be "feminist heroes", and not forcing them to make sacrificial efforts for the obsessions of others . Feminists cannot treat victims as tools. We believe that she will continue to make the best choice for herself, and this is also our expectation.

Thanks again, Jingyao, for walking this journey with us.

The four-year struggle was worth it, and I pay tribute to the supporters

In the early stages of the case, feminists united to translate Jingyao's indictment and related documents, trying to eliminate the information gap between the Chinese and American contexts. After the #我是不是完美骇偉# campaign was launched, the number of hits on Weibo reached 20 million within two weeks, with more than 20,000 interactions, including a large number of self-reports from sexual assault survivors, which played a wide public education role. Supporters from all over the country went to each offline hearing of the case. The online voices of many Jingyao supporters and the real on-site records of several feminists fought against the huge public relations of Liu Qiangdong and JD.com.

In the United States, the Jingyao case was considered a marginal Chinese case and was hardly included in mainstream discussions. However, feminists have been actively accepting media interviews and contacting the media until the early stages of the trial. They have pioneered the discourse of Chinese feminism in the English-speaking world, and their reports and comments on the progress of this case have become the main source of information for serious media in China and abroad, bringing great pressure to Liu Qiangdong and affecting him during the process of JD.com's listing.

The #MeToo movement was first launched in the United States, and the American judicial system has a tendency to protect powerful men. Although we believe Jingyao will win the case, we cannot predict whether she will receive fair treatment. Jingyao has already been hurt once by the Minnesota police's abandonment of the criminal case against Liu Qiangdong. If Jingyao has to bear the cost of being publicly humiliated in court and media reports again, but does not wait for the ideal result, it will be a huge blow to Jingyao, the Chinese feminist movement, and the people who have devoted themselves to it. Today, the terrible situation we envisioned will not happen to Jingyao, which will also encourage more victims to stand up.

We must not stop. We will continue to discuss how capital and power operate in sexual assault cases and be prepared to support more victims in the future.

Here, we would like to pay tribute to our friends who have worked for this case, to the anonymous supporters since the 2018 China MeToo movement, and to other feminists who are still suffering for us.

MeToo is still going on, and individual cases are not the end

Jingyao told our volunteers with guilt: "I can't hold on to the end." At the same time, she expressed her gratitude to everyone. We understand that she has taken on too much for everyone and the MeToo movement. Now, she has decided to stop here and promised to do her best to help feminists.

At this point, an important issue lies before us: How do we continue to support Jingyao? How do we understand the survivors’ choices? How do we conduct feminist thinking on the #MeToo movement? We still need to be vigilant against domestic media continuing to publish information such as “honey traps” to discredit Jingyao. It is foreseeable that some media will continue to reinforce misogynistic narratives. Therefore, we must continue to work hard to resist and correct the patriarchal interpretation of the pre-trial agreement results.

The result of the pre-trial agreement cannot protect Jingyao from being slandered by the domestic public opinion field, nor can it reduce the possible scrutiny of supporters and organizers. Many feminist activists and volunteers have pushed themselves into the public eye and exposed themselves to vulnerable environments in the process of supporting this case. Therefore , we urge everyone to continue to leave messages to Jingyao to express your support and explain why you support Jingyao. We also hope that everyone will continue to pay attention to feminist activists. The more people pay attention, the less security threats they will face. This case was terminated due to the pre-trial agreement, but the #MeToo movement will continue to move forward. Feminists will continue to fight against the patriarchal society.

Upcoming Events

The following are previews of three recent events. Please believe that we are always there.

1. Offline gatherings

Time: October 2, 1:00 p.m. local time

City: Minneapolis

Location: Hennepin Co. Govt. Center (GC) 300 South 6th Street Minneapolis, MN 55487

Supporters will hold a rally at the courthouse and hope that everyone will come or introduce their friends to come.

2. Online live broadcast

Topic: Women's rights talk about the "settlement" between Jingyao and Liu Qiangdong

Time: October 2, 9:30 p.m. (EST); October 3, 9:30 a.m. (GMT+8)

Platform: ZOOM

Link: https://zoom.us/j/91554431245

3. In-depth interpretation of the results of this case

We will release further news on this case in the near future, as well as professional interpretations of the pre-trial agreement by U.S. lawyers. Please stay tuned!

Attachment: Court Statement

JOINT STATEMENT OF THE PARTIES

“The incident between Ms. Jingyao Liu and Mr. Richard Liu in Minnesota in 2018 resulted in a misunderstanding that has consumed substantial public attention and brought profound suffering to the parties and their families. Today, the parties agreed to set aside their differences, and settle their legal dispute in order to avoid further pain and suffering caused by the lawsuit.

Beyond the above, there will be no further comment from Ms. Liu, her representatives or her counsel, nor jointly from the Parties.”

Joint statement by all parties

“The disagreement between Ms. Liu Jingyao and Mr. Liu Qiangdong in the 2018 Minnesota incident has attracted widespread public attention and has had a serious impact on the parties and their families. Today, the parties have agreed to put aside their differences and resolve the legal dispute through a pre-trial agreement to avoid further pain and suffering caused by litigation.

Beyond this, neither Ms. Liu, her agent or her attorney, nor the parties involved will comment.”