The second trial of Xian Zi's sexual harassment case against Zhu Jun: a verdict of "insufficient evidence" and a show of support under heavy security

When Xianzi walked out of the court, it was already 12 o'clock in the middle of the night.

The crowd immediately rushed forward, and more than 40 young people stood in three circles, surrounding the string in the center. She held a red "Civil Code" in her left hand, and in her right hand she held the flowers she carried when she entered the court. She looked particularly thin standing in the crowd.

Many supporters came at noon and endured harassment from the police. They waited outside the court for more than ten hours. However, 40 minutes before Xianzi walked out of the court, they saw the sentencing result posted on the Weibo of the Haidian District Court : the evidence was insufficient to prove it. Sexual harassment, claim dismissed.

Xianzi tried her best to restrain her emotions and told everyone what happened in the court: the judge refused to collect evidence, temporarily refused to allow expert witnesses to appear in court, did not allow the lawyer to speak in the second round of debate, and did not allow her to conclude her argument. "After the court debate, it was over." Judgment will be made in 20 minutes."

"I have made all my efforts," Xianzi said. "I don't know if I have the courage to persist for another three years. I don't know if this is a farewell, but if it is a farewell, I feel very sorry... There is no better outcome for everyone.”

She couldn't help crying. Sobbing could be heard at the scene, and many people began wiping away tears. "You are great", "Thank you for your hard work", "Xianzi, you are great", "We love you", "We hope you will be happy in the future", the young girls and boys present encouraged her.

One supporter said: "This is not only your three years, but also our three years... If someone is very tired, they can stop and rest, but I believe that we will meet again in the future ."

This solidarity occurred on September 15, 2021, outside the second court hearing of Xianzi’s lawsuit against Zhu Jun for sexual harassment. From the beginning of the "Get ready to fight" prosecution declaration in 2018, Xianzi has gradually become a core #MeToo activist who helps victims of sexual assault and connects women. The Weibo account "Xianzi and Her Friends" has also become the centerpiece of this movement. An important voice.

At the first court session in December 2020, hundreds of young people were firm and rational in the face of police scolding, and brought dinner, milk tea and warm babies to strangers. Those who witnessed it said that goodwill, mutual support, and gentle and powerful resistance allowed civil society to briefly reappear on a beautiful night.

However, outside this court hearing, more police officers patrolled closely; on the Internet, more Weibo accounts exploded immediately after posting or forwarding relevant content. However, although the number of supporters was reduced by half, dozens of people were still stationed late into the night, greeting Xianzi with tears and encouragement, and then saying goodbye.

"Xianzi may feel tired, but #MeToo will not be silenced," Huang Simin, a lawyer with more than ten years of legal experience, told NGOCN in an interview. "This is not a movement of one or two people, but a journey that many women have gone through together."

"As long as the oppression of women exists, there will always be victims and advocates speaking out," she said.

Outside the court: The tears of police, uncles and aunts, supporters, "We will meet again in the future"

When 21-year-old Yu Wusheng (pseudonym) arrived at the Haidian District Court at 12:30 noon, the entire Tonghuisi Street at the south gate had been closed, and a cordon was put up at the main entrance intersection. More than a dozen supporters stood on both sides of the intersection. . There was still an hour and a half before the trial started.

He walked in a circle outside the court. More than 20 police officers patrolled back and forth on the narrow road, randomly checking ID cards. There were also more than 20 plainclothes police officers, uniformly dressed in black clothes and wearing black Bluetooth headsets, carefully looking at passers-by. He said that if police see anyone talking, looking around or looking at a map, they will immediately ask them to leave quickly.

At 13:40, he saw Xianzi appearing next to the street sign on Yushulin Street, holding a copy of the Civil Code and a bouquet of flowers, looking a little nervous. Nearly 20 supporters and about 10 foreign media reporters immediately rushed over to surround her. A couple shouted to her: "Come on Xianzi!"

After hesitating for a moment, Xianzi faced the crowd and said: "September 14, 2021, may be the last hearing of the first instance of my lawsuit against Zhu Jun for sexual harassment liability dispute. It has been three years since I came forward in 2018."

She continued, "Thank you very much for everyone's willingness to stand with me, whether it was December 2 last year or today, because we have the same feelings for each other..."

However, before he finished speaking, a middle-aged man suddenly pushed away the crowd and shouted at Xianzi, "Why are you blocking other people's way because of your own trouble!" Several middle-aged women also squeezed in, shouting "It's over." Let’s break up, don’t block the road and affect the normal life of the residents.” He rushed towards the entrance of the court while holding the string.

"Whether it's victory or defeat, I'm honored to experience these three years..." Xianzi tried to finish his words, but was pushed aside, and his voice was drowned in the noise of uncles and aunts.

Xianzi was forced to walk toward the court, and Yu Wusheng and more than 20 supporters followed. She suddenly stood still and wanted to say something to the supporters, but was interrupted again by her uncle and aunt shouting loudly, "Move, don't block the road, stop gathering." The scene became chaotic, and Yu said silently that he could feel Xianzi's anger and grievance at that time. Xianzi said no more, wiped his tears, straightened his messed up hair, turned and walked towards the entrance of the court.

She walked through the iron fence alone, turned around and waved to the supporters. "A girl yelled, 'Come on, Sister Xianzi!' Everyone couldn't hold back, and many people cried," Yu Wusheng recalled, "Xianzi's thin figure quickly disappeared from my sight."

Compared with the confrontation between the police and the supporters during the first court session, the violent eviction of the uncles and aunts made many people even more angry. Yu Wusheng said: " Last year, people were able to fight head-on against the public power represented by the police, but this time the uncles and aunts rushed in, and we didn't know how to resist or who to fight against. The authorities' method of maintaining stability is particularly insidious and damaging."

Another supporter at the scene told NGOCN that the middle-aged man who first pushed through the crowd and insulted Xianzi then put on a Bluetooth headset and stood with other plainclothes people for more than ten hours .

After Xianzi entered the court, the scene became quiet. Most supporters stood chatting at the bus stop opposite the south gate. Someone brought a guitar and sang the first hanging of "Rose Colored You": "There is no magic flute in your hand, only a shabby big flag... You look tired but you don't stop. I am I love you so much and won’t change you, the rose-colored you.”

22-year-old Xie Juan (pseudonym) came outside the court at two o'clock in the afternoon and waited until Xianzi walked out of the court in the early morning. She said: "I must come because this case is not just Xianzi's own business, it has become the connection and hope of Chinese women."

She and Xianzi got acquainted by doing charity work together online. "While Xianzi was busy with her own cases, she also helped raise funds and donations during the outbreak of the Wuhan epidemic and the floods in Henan, and helped sexual assault victims and sexual minority groups find lawyers, social workers, and reporters to speak out for them," she said. "Many people because of She is connected, she is gentle and powerful. If I have an image of a particularly beautiful activist, she is that person.”

While waiting, Xie Juan made new friends, many of whom came "encouraged by Xianzi" and "moved by her". Everyone gathered together to talk about #MeToo, women’s struggles, and also made fun of the police. She said that when the police sidled in the cordon to eavesdrop on their conversation, they yelled: "If you didn't set up the cordon, you wouldn't have to eavesdrop!"

In the evening, supporters who were strangers came over with lunch boxes and asked Xiejuan and her friends if they had had dinner. A nearby resident went downstairs for a walk and was stopped by police cordons. When asked if she could walk, she always said she could. "Subconsciously, I actually hope that there will be no cordon to keep everyone out and we can walk freely," she said. An aunt asked her why so many people gathered together. She explained in detail Zhu Jun's sexual harassment and Xianzi's three-year struggle. After listening, the aunt said, "This girl is very brave. It's not easy."

At 8:30 p.m., there were more police than during the day. Another witness at the scene said that Tonghuisi Street at the south gate of the court was lined with police cars, and the main entrance was blocked by three or two buses, which happened to block the sign of Haidian District Court. There were four or five police officers in a bus, monitoring the movements of pedestrians and supporters together with the police on the street.

This witness said that some supporters who came in the evening reminded each other to be careful of the police and said that they would be satisfied with just taking a look. Some college students were worried that the police would call the school and cause more trouble, so they stayed for a while and left quickly. . He expressed his understanding of this: "I was also very scared when I was at the scene. I cannot demand that everyone must confront the police and persist until the end. With such great political pressure at the moment, I pay attention to it online, go to the scene to support, and see these I’m so grateful for the support, big and small. ”

Until 11:30 p.m., the supporters outside the court still did not wait for Xianzi, and by this time the court had announced the trial results on Weibo. "The police kept urging us to leave, saying that we were waiting here foolishly because the people we were waiting for have all arrived home," Xie Juan said. There were feelings of anxiety, loss and anger in the crowd, and some people discussed whether to continue waiting.

However, at nearly 12 o'clock in the morning, a girl came over and whispered to everyone that Xianzi would be waiting for everyone at the next intersection on the west side of Yushulin Street, and the supporters immediately ran over. They finally saw Xianzi walking out, still holding the flowers in her arms when she walked into the court more than ten hours ago.

Seeing the supporters arriving, the dim street lights reflected Xianzi's tears. She told everyone: "I couldn't sleep every day before the trial, always worried that I would not prepare well enough. But I did not have a sufficient opportunity to make a statement during the statement, and lawyer Wang Fei did not have the opportunity to argue for me in the second round. "

She kept repeating, "I have made all my efforts," and kept rubbing the wrinkled Civil Code in her hand.

She said: "I was 21 years old when it happened. Now I am 28 years old. If I do this again (fight again), I will already be 35. I can't do it anymore. I am already very tired." She choked, I wiped away my tears with my hands, but I couldn't help but cry. "Being able to keep in touch with everyone in the past three years and being able to talk to everyone on Weibo is all my hard work in the past three years."

"I didn't expect this to happen. I thought it would be better. At least I don't have to go out and tell everyone that I lost the case," Xianzi said. "I feel very ashamed. I don't know if I will have the next three years."

The girls and boys present could no longer suppress their emotions, and many began to sob visibly. They comforted Xianzi with crying sounds: "It's okay," "You are great," "Xianzi, we love you," and "We hope you will have a good life." own future life."

One supporter said: "We should thank you for making such an attempt." The scene became quiet, and she continued: "Even if it is difficult to speak out in public in the next three years,... everyone will not stop Down."

After everyone comforted and encouraged her, Xianzi's mood eased a bit and she said she would insist on appealing. "Even if I get such a verdict... what happened to me will not change," she said. " Since 2014, many people have told me not to speak out, but I have never felt for a second that I was sexually harassed. Victim, I never felt for one second that I did anything wrong. ”

She thanked everyone and left in the car with her friends. Next to Xie Juan, a girl couldn't hold herself any longer, squatted on the ground and started crying.

During the trial: "Insufficient evidence", not available, limited debate

On the night of the trial, Xianzi issued a long statement saying that she applied to the court to obtain the CCTV corridor surveillance video before and after the sexual harassment, as well as the transcript of the police trip to Wuhan to threaten her parents not to spread the word. However, the presiding judge refused to obtain relevant evidence because it was "not directly related to the core facts of sexual harassment."

NGOCN tried to understand the specific situation during the trial, but Wang Fei, Xianzi’s attorney, declined the interview due to the safety of his client.

Many legal practitioners believe that the court's refusal to obtain evidence lacks justification and is even dereliction of duty.

There is a general consensus in the legal community that sexual harassment is highly concealed, difficult to obtain evidence, and difficult to prove. Lawyer Huang Simin said that under such a premise, multiple indirect evidences are used to form an evidence chain to meet the "highly probable" proof standard in civil litigation, which is a litigation method often used by the injured party.

Lawyer Huang Simin explained that although the transcripts of corridor surveillance and police threatening parents cannot directly and independently prove the fact of sexual harassment, they are still closely related to the causes and consequences of sexual harassment, and can be used by Xianzi's party as a chain of evidence to prove Zhu Jun's sexual harassment.

She said that the court should obtain these evidences that are closely related to the case and inaccessible to the victims according to its authority, "but the court failed to obtain them, which is derelict in its duty."

Lawyer Huang Simin emphasized: "The reason for 'insufficient evidence' is because the court did not collect enough evidence. If all the evidence is collected, even if the evidence does not meet the standard of proof, at least it will be a judgment made under the existing system. ( The current result) reflects the general lack of gender awareness in our country’s judicial practice and the lack of a protection system for sexual assault victims.”

She continued: "The judge did not even collect the evidence that should be collected, and blocked the road in the first step before weighing the probative power of the evidence. Whether such behavior complies with the Civil Procedure Law and the Judges' Law is unclear. It’s doubtful.”

In both trials, the court refused to obtain evidence such as surveillance, transcripts, and dresses for different reasons.

Xianzi wrote in his account after the first court session that the CCTV corridor surveillance was preserved in the public security agency’s files, and Zhu Jun also posted surveillance screenshots online. However, in the first court hearing, the court replied that "the public security organs have not requested surveillance." In the second hearing, the court refused to request surveillance.

Regarding the transcript of the police threatening her parents, Xianzi wrote that during the first trial, her parents had testified on the spot about the entire process of the police contacting the two. However, the court stated that "the police have obtained all the files and will not do so again." In the second hearing, the court refused to obtain the transcript again on the grounds that it was “irrelevant to the core facts.”

In addition, Xianzi said that she applied in both court hearings to re-identify the dress she was wearing when the sexual harassment occurred. However, the courts all responded that the public security organs had never retrieved the dress. However, on the contrary, she wrote in her self-report that after reporting the crime in 2014, the police had tested three things stuck on the dress's front chest, right hem, and buttocks, and during the pretrial conference in 2019, she saw the police identification The report is well preserved.

Lu Pin, a promoter of the feminist movement and founder of "Feminist Voices", said in an interview with NGOCN that this case shows "how the public, prosecutors and law colluded to deny the facts under the guise of the law."

Lu Pin said: "The concealment of sexual harassment, the social and cultural sexual shame and the humiliation of women make it difficult to prove sexual harassment. But now, the judiciary and the power are covering up at all levels and jointly suppressing the victims, making it impossible to prove sexual harassment."

"The court's statement is also bullying," said Lu Pin. "There is obviously a dress, but it is not missing. It is obviously under surveillance, but it is not retrieved. It is a blatant contradiction, and it is like 'What can you do to me?' gesture, trampling on procedural justice.”

Before the first trial in 2020, #MeToo campaigners were mentally prepared for the limitations of judicial trials. "If the judiciary cannot provide justice, then defend it to society; if the present cannot provide justice, then defend it to history." This became the slogan of Xianzi and her friends. Feminist activist lawyer Liang Xiaowen said: " Xianzi's case is a test of the Chinese legal system, rather than a test of Mitu by the law. "

After the second court hearing, Lu Pin said that although the lawsuit failed, it became the most influential case in the #MeToo movement. The three-year litigation process exposed systemic problems in law and justice, triggered public discussions, and shocked the whole society. This is a deeper significance besides losing the lawsuit.

However, on Weibo where the Haidian District Court announced the verdict, many comments sympathized with Zhu Jun for "redressing his injustice". Two days before the trial of the Xianzi case started, He Qian accused Deng Fei of sexual harassment. The incident ended with Deng Fei winning the first-instance lawsuit against him for infringement of his reputation and upholding the original verdict in the second-instance trial. Deng Fei declared on his public account that he “continues to believe in the law.”

Lu Pin analyzed that #MeToo only exposes the shortcomings of the legal system and does not necessarily immediately promote judicial improvement. On the contrary, in recent years, social misogyny has fermented, and there has been a split in sexual harassment judgments between "believe it or not". She said, "If China's judiciary reaches this point, it will have no credibility at all."

On social networks, a large number of Weibo accounts have been blocked or banned for posting or forwarding texts and pictures related to the Xianzi trial, including feminist bloggers @CatchUP Gender Justice Sisters, @七小MONSTERs, @berry spicy MAYLOVE, as well as the media People @ auntie Xiong, @西 window suiji, etc. However, Weibo posts and comments attacking Xianzi for "creating social divisions", "anti-China tools" and "severely punishing feminists" remained unscathed, with thousands of likes.

Lu Pin said that #MeToo's connection with female groups and challenge to the patriarchal society have touched the nerves of those in power and will inevitably lead to "iron fist" suppression; and when nationalism and misogyny merge, netizens "overseas forces" "The label is equivalent to "political death penalty", "I don't need to discuss women's rights and #MeToo itself with you anymore."

Many people who witnessed the trial said that the verdict and the oppression of power have made many people worried about the future of #MeToo. They believe that offline solidarity is almost impossible and the online public space is increasingly shrinking.

But lawyer Huang Simin said there is no need to be too discouraged by one case. "Although the space is getting smaller and smaller, this case can still be made public, #MeToo can still be discussed, and there is still hope for this issue," she said. " #MeToo may be pessimistic in the next three to five years, but it will What has changed is the systematic oppression of women by law, system, society, and culture, which is destined to be a long struggle. ”

She said: "The victims of #MeToo used their pain and unfair experiences to speak out bravely in exchange for a little progress in women's rights and gender equality. These progress themselves are a history of blood and tears in women's lives."