In 2013, Xi Jinping noted that “attention should be paid to the unique role of women in promoting the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation's families and establishing good family values.” In the decade since, the Chinese state has grown increasingly vigilant against the mobilization capacity of feminist movements. However, during the same period, China enacted laws against domestic violence and, at the urging of NGOs and activists, strengthened policies and legal frameworks against sexual assault. On the one hand, feminist and broader civil rights movements have become targets of suppression; on the other hand, the MeToo movement and the A4 protests demonstrate that the feminist community is a key player in China's current and future changes. Speaker Li Sipan, a participant in and chronicler of post-reform era feminist movements in China, will analyze the relationship between the state, the media, and movements, and compare the strategies and efficacy of Chinese feminist activism under shifting political opportunity structures.

Li Jun (AKA Li Sipan,李思磐), received her PhD in political sociology from the University of Macau. She is currently a visiting scholar at Stanford University, and was previously a Chau Hoi Shuen Scholars-in-Residence of the Beatrice Bain Research Group at the University of California, Berkeley and an Associate Professor at the Cheung Kong School of Journalism and Communication, Shantou University (China). A former journalist, Li established the feminist organization Women Awakening Network （新媒体女性）in 2004, which developed a national reputation for its focus on gender equality in journalism and communication. Li has also coordinated many landmark advocacy projects on anti-sexual harassment policy and anti-domestic violence legislation. Her research focuses on the difference in media strategies between generations of Chinese feminist activism.

Sponsor(s): Center for Chinese Studies