Latest news with #onlineLiterature
Japan Times
10-07-2025
- Japan Times
China detains female writers of 'boys' love' content in porn crackdown
Police in China have detained dozens of young women authors in a genre of gay erotica widely known in Asia as "boys' love" during a nationwide crackdown on online pornography, lawyers and activists familiar with the cases say. The detentions since March have triggered debate on social media about the limits of free speech and the apparent sexist nature of the crackdown, while stirring sympathy for the authors, many of whom hail from low-income backgrounds. "I just wanted to earn some money to ease my family's financial burden," one author of such works wrote in a May 25 post on microblogging platform Weibo before it was deleted. "I never imagined that 300,000 clicks and 4,000 yuan in royalties accumulated by those obscure words over time would become criminal evidence," she added, referring to a sum equivalent to about $560. Police detained the women in the northwestern city of Lanzhou for violating a 2004 obscenity law that can carry jail terms of more than 10 years or life, though legal scholars want it overhauled to reflect changes in internet usage. The writers, all in their 20s and early 30s, published their work on Haitang Literature City, a niche pay-to-read online platform specializing in the erotic fiction genre, popular with women, that features relationships between men. The website is censored in China and can only be accessed by using virtual private network (VPN) software. One author detained in April earned royalties of less than 10,000 yuan that supplemented her income from a series of menial jobs, said her defense lawyer, who sought anonymity for fear of police retaliation. "In a country that emphasises socialist morality, people's concept of sex is influenced by the prevailing culture, so of course it is linked to freedom of speech," the lawyer said. "If these things cannot be written now, wasn't 'Dream of the Red Chamber' also obscene at the time?" they asked, referring to a famous 18th-century Chinese novel. Some authors may face trial as soon as this autumn if prosecutors decide to press charges, the lawyer added. Lanzhou police did not reply to a request for comment. Police in China have detained dozens of young women authors of boys' love works in a nationwide crackdown on online pornography. | Siyi Zhao / The New York Times In 2021, China's state media regulator called for the removal of content depicting "abnormal sexual relationships," a year after the official People's Daily condemned boys' love novels as "poison" that could "mislead young people on gender." The number of women detained could not be confirmed, although lawyers say some were later released on bail. None could be reached for interviews and family members declined to speak, citing safety threats. In recent weeks, several have written social media posts about their experiences, only for these to be deleted later. One described being detained by police in front of her university classmates. Others said police interrogated them about their sex lives and sexual orientation. More than a dozen Chinese lawyers have publicly offered pro bono aid to authors and Haitang readers summoned by police. China cracks down periodically on content it deems "immoral," ranging from LGBTQ+-themed social media accounts to "vulgar" livestreamers and influencers who "flaunt wealth." A crackdown on gay erotica last year saw more than 50 Haitang authors detained or fined by rural police in the eastern province of Anhui, according to lawyers. One well-known author was jailed in December for 4½ years for earning 1.8 million yuan by publishing "obscene works," a court judgment posted online by her husband showed. The user did not respond to a request for comment. But the latest group of detained authors made just a few thousand yuan from their work, said an activist familiar with several cases who declined to be identified for safety reasons. In informal conversations, the defense lawyer said, Lanzhou court officials have called the stories "disgusting and perverted" for their depiction of LGBTQ+ relationships. "These websites are extremely niche and can only be accessed by insiders, whereas vulgar online content involving gambling, porn and minors is everywhere on short-video apps and social media," one user wrote on the RedNote social networking platform. Its "Haitang" hashtag drew more than 205 million views and 1.8 million posts before it was censored in June. "Men who write pornographic fiction enter the China Writers' Association, whereas women who do the same go to jail," runs a popular RedNote meme. Many users said some perpetrators of rape, molestation and domestic violence received lighter sentences than writers of erotica. "An authoritarian government can only use a one-size-fits-all approach to arrest authors," feminist activist Li Maizi said of the anti-pornography campaign.
Reuters
17-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Reuters
China's online literature expands overseas readership in cultural export push
HONG KONG, June 17 (Reuters) - China counted over a half billion consumers of online literature last year - a record - according to an official report, while the number of overseas users also jumped as authorities promoted the industry as a cultural export and soft power tool. China's online literature, which includes web novels in a variety of genres accessible via smart phones, tablets and e-readers, has seen a boom over the past decade with the number of authors and readers soaring. A report by the Chinese Literature Institute, under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said on Sunday that the growth was driven by younger consumers. Readers aged 26 to 45 accounted for half the total readership, the report said. The number of online literature consumers in China grew 10.6% year on year in 2024 to 575 million, or nearly half of all citizens. The number of overseas users, meanwhile, reached 352 million, including readers from more than 200 countries, with the market growing 16.5% year on year to a value of 5.07 billion yuan ($706.12 million). The report called online literature a new channel for "telling Chinese stories well and deepening exchanges and mutual learning among civilisations", adding that it had improved the "country's cultural soft power." Science fiction in particular was developing rapidly, it added. With a growth rate of 180%, Japan was the fastest developing foreign market. Britain, Greece, Spain, Brazil, France and Germany also showed strong growth, it said. Chinese online literature has the largest readership in Asia, which accounts for about 80% of all readers globally and over 50% of global market share by value, the report said. China Literature Ltd ( opens new tab, a leading Chinese online literary reading and writing platform owned by Tencent ( opens new tab, has turned many of its online literature works into television and web series, movies and games. Its Hong Kong-listed shares have climbed 23% so far this year. ($1 = 7.1801 Chinese yuan renminbi)
