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Thread: #metoo (An Open Secret: Hollywood - Please Watch)

  1. #121
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    This has been making the rounds the past few days. Some sources are making a joke out of it, but surprisingly, I found this video to show one of the more reasonable opinions on the matter. The main reason I included this story in this thread is because, among Kimberly Thompson's accusations, is "spells of sexual molestation".

    I believe Kimberly Thompson, or at least I believe she truly believes her accusations. Just because it may sound crazy to 'most' people doesn't mean it isn't true. I don't know about Beyoncé and Jay-Z. I am NOT a fan, and never have been. But I have seen enough to know they're deep into very weird stuff, and have gotten progressively weirder (or more blatant about it) over the years. Not only Beyoncé and Jay-Z, but also Madonna, Katy Perry, and a host of others (of which I'm also not a fan of).


  2. #122
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    backlash

    SEPTEMBER 26, 2018 / 7:02 PM / A DAY AGO
    From chatroom to courtroom: China's #MeToo movement takes legal turn
    Christian Shepherd, Joyce Zhou, Philip Wen
    5 MIN READ

    BEIJING (Reuters) - 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.


    Television host Zhu Jun hosts a musical performance in Xian, Shaanxi province, China November 15, 2014. Picture taken November 15, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

    Now her case is set to go before the Chinese legal system.

    The 25-year-old former intern told Reuters 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 wellbeing.

    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 told Reuters. 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.

    China’s justice and public security ministries did not respond to requests for comment.

    China does not have a law that specifically prohibits sexual harassment. However, on Aug. 27 China’s parliament announced that it was considering adding provisions to a civil code, expected to be passed in 2020, that would allow a victim to file a civil suit against someone who uses words, actions or exploits a subordinate relationship to sexually harass them.

    The changes would also require employers to take measures to prevent, stop and handle complaints about sexual harassment.

    VAGUE LAWS, CULTURE OF SILENCE

    In recent months, women have made several allegations of sexual abuse against powerful men, including prominent university professors, the head of China’s Buddhist association, and leading figures in the media and at non-governmental organizations, which have reverberated across social media in China.

    That intensified with the arrest and release by U.S. police last month of Richard Liu, chief executive of Chinese e-commerce giant JD.com, on a rape allegation. Liu has not been charged and through a lawyer has denied any wrongdoing.

    Up to now, vague laws, patchy implementation and a lack of understanding among lawyers, judges, police and the public have hampered attempts to handle cases through the courts, and deterred many victims from filing suits, according to activist groups.

    The lack of a clear definition of sexual harassment, or an agreed upon standard for addressing complaints, entrenches a “culture of silence”, according to the Beijing Yuanzhong Gender Development Center, a non-profit.

    The group said that while workplace sexual harassment is widespread in China, only 34 specific cases have been logged in the official court case database since 2010.

    HOUSEHOLD NAME

    Xianzi was a 21-year-old intern at the state broadcaster CCTV when she said she met Zhu, who is famous across China for hosting an annual spring festival extravaganza, one of China’s top-rated programs.

    In an interview with Reuters, Xianzi said that she had been alone in a dressing room with Zhu when he asked her if she wanted to work for the channel after her internship, before trying to take her hand on the pretext of reading her fortune.

    Despite her protests, Xianzi said, Zhu groped her under her skirt before pulling her head and forcibly kissing her, only stopping when interrupted by knocking on the door.

    CCTV did not respond to requests for comment.

    Xianzi said she was moved to act after reading accounts of sexual assault and harassment posted on Chinese social media by women emboldened by the country’s fledgling #MeToo movement.

    In July, Xianzi, now a screenwriter, wrote about her own experience on WeChat, sharing it with a small circle of friends. When Xu, her friend, shared the post on the Weibo platform, it went viral.

    On Tuesday, Xianzi returned to social media.

    “Still a bit angry, this is Xianzi, hello everyone, I’m getting ready for a fight,” she wrote on Weibo.

    ($1 = 6.8763 Chinese yuan renminbi)
    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    Hi, Gene.

    You can change the thread title if you want. The thread has outgrown the video it was originally titled around. Although I do kinda like the current thread title, as it's a bit eye-catching.
    I'm just going to add the #metoo to it then.

    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    I believe Kimberly Thompson, or at least I believe she truly believes her accusations. Just because it may sound crazy to 'most' people doesn't mean it isn't true. I don't know about Beyoncé and Jay-Z. I am NOT a fan, and never have been. But I have seen enough to know they're deep into very weird stuff, and have gotten progressively weirder (or more blatant about it) over the years. Not only Beyoncé and Jay-Z, but also Madonna, Katy Perry, and a host of others (of which I'm also not a fan of).
    I've got a soft spot for pop divas (and this comes from working in the music industry for over three decades now). There is more demand on them than any other figure in pop culture. I've worked for Beyonce and Madonna a few times, but not Jay-Z or Katy Perry yet. Their shows are quite the spectacle. As for them being witches, well, the male version of a witch is a wizard.
    Gene Ching
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  3. #123
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    In South Korea & China



    How #MeToo Is Taking on a Life of Its Own in Asia
    The reckoning over sexual assault in the U.S. has helped reignite long-simmering movements in South Korea, China and beyond. But speaking out comes with huge risks
    By Suyin Haynes and Aria Hangyu Chen
    October 9, 2018

    It’s been eight years since Seo Ji-hyun says she was sexually harassed, but it’s still painful to recall. “For a long time, I tortured myself by blaming myself for everything,” she says, speaking to TIME on a cloudy September morning in Seoul’s trendy Apgujeong neighborhood. In 2010, Seo, a top-level prosecutor in South Korea, alleges that she was repeatedly groped at a funeral by a senior male colleague, while the country’s Justice Minister sat nearby.

    Seo reported the incident to her managers shortly after, but was subjected to performance audits that she describes as unfair, and assigned to a lower level branch outside Seoul—a move she says did not match her strong track record at work. Last fall, after suffering long term health problems such as panic attacks and trouble sleeping, Seo watched as the #MeToo movement took off in Hollywood. She began to grasp how widespread sexual harassment and assault were, and realized even “world-famous actresses” had suffered as she had. “I had more confidence in believing that it wasn’t my fault,” she says.

    As the reckoning spread across the U.S., Canada and parts of Europe, millions of survivors described their experiences of groping, rape, unwanted kissing, abuse and threats; others simply posted “me too” on social media. In November, Seo asked for a meeting with senior management to open an investigation into the incident, and to find the truth regarding her treatment at work in the years since she reported the incident. Frustrated by the lack of progress, Seo decided to add her voice to the rising global chorus on January 29—sharing her experience in an open letter on her workplace intranet and signing it with #MeToo at the end.

    Within a few hours of posting, she says the Justice Department said her statement was false and refused to issue an apology. (The Ministry of Justice did not respond to TIME’s repeated requests for comment on the case; Seo’s alleged harasser has denied the charge, saying he was too drunk at the time to recall what happened.) That evening, Seo spoke on one of South Korea’s most influential evening news programs. “The reason I did the interview was to tell many people out there that it’s not their fault,” she says.

    Her words resonated. Today, Seo’s interview is widely credited with kickstarting South Korea’s own #MeToo movement, triggering a wave of women speaking out against film directors, poets, actors, and others. Meanwhile, Ko Mi-kyung, president of Korea Women’s Hotline, an organization supporting survivors of domestic violence and sexual harassment, estimates that it received a 23% increase in the number of calls in the weeks following Seo’s interview. Those are particularly widespread problems: a 2014 U.N. report showed South Korea had the third highest rate of female murder victims in the world; and in a 2017 study, almost 80% of South Korean men surveyed by the Korean Institute of Criminology said they had physically or psychologically abused a girlfriend.

    South Korea wasn’t the only country in Asia where women’s rights activists were paying attention to how the #MeToo movement on the other side of the globe was evolving. As high profile perpetrators in the West publicly apologized for their behavior and some lost positions of power, many in Asia saw a chance to reignite long-simmering movements pushing for gender equality and shape their own national conversations about gender inequality.

    Like in the U.S., the movements in Asian countries have been started and sustained by ordinary citizens. But while celebrities and media figures helped make #MeToo go viral in the U.S., there have been fewer high-profile cases in Asia. “Those who are fighting are not famous people,” says Lu Pin, the founder of grassroots Chinese activist platform Feminist Voices. “It is countless grassroots people echoing each other.”

    Some credit the U.S. movement with helping bring the conversation out into the open. “It’s no longer seen as a niche issue,” says Anna-Karin Jatfors, Regional Director for U.N. Women’s Asia-Pacific operation. Others, like Lu Pin, say activists were always looking for this opportunity—and were eager to forge their own country’s interpretation of #MeToo.

    While China’s movement has borrowed the hashtag, others have used their movements to address deeply-entrenched inequalities, including access to abortion, domestic abuse and murder. In Asia, #MeToo isn’t just synonymous with sexual harassment and assault. As women across the region turn their anger into action, its manifestations have become a broader feminist rallying cry. In Japan, #WithYou has been used to express solidarity with survivors of workplace harassment; in Thailand, women voiced their frustration at being ****-shamed with #DontTellMeHowToDress; and in the Philippines, women have flooded social media and the streets in protest against President Rodrigo Duterte’s sexist comments, under the hashtag #BabaeAko (I Am Woman.)

    But daring to speak out in some of these deeply patriarchal societies comes with enormous risks. In democratic South Korea, even as women take to the streets demanding justice on violence and sexual harassment, they cover their faces out of fear of backlash. In China—a repressive state where crackdowns on human rights activists and minority populations are escalating—women must contend with their posts on social media being censored and online feminist platforms being shut down.

    One sexual assault survivor in Hangzhou applauds the bravery of celebrities in Hollywood who have spoken out. “Such courage makes me believe that after they speak out, they can be honest with themselves.” But the situation is different in China, she tells TIME. “A lot of people say that when a woman speaks up, or even when [rape or assault] happens, that’s the moment they die.”
    continued next post
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    Continued from previous post


    Seo Ji-hyun poses for a portrait in Seoul in September. Tim Franco for TIME

    In China, state hostility toward public protest means women’s rights activists cannot flood the streets. Instead, they go online. Unlike elsewhere in Asia, the government’s tight grip on freedom of information means it’s more difficult for activists to look to other countries’ movements for inspiration. That hasn’t stopped a new generation of digitally-savvy women working to amplify #MeToo stories, with the help of Virtual Private Networks [VPN] ensuring a safe, encrypted Internet connection. “Thanks to the Internet, and VPNs, their minds are not constrained by the firewall,” says Wang Zheng, Professor of Women’s Studies and History at the University of Michigan.

    The movement took off on January 1, when Luo Xixi, a former student at Beihang University in Beijing, wrote an open letter on Weibo, China’s Twitter-like social media platform. Luo alleged that when she was a PhD candidate in 2004, her professor Chen Xiaowu drove her to his sister’s home and tried to force himself on her. Chen denied the allegations but 10 days later, after an investigation, he was fired and the university revoked his teaching qualifications, issuing a public statement saying they found Chen had sexually harassed students.

    Luo’s post was viewed more than 3 million times in one day and sparked a series of other allegations against at least a dozen university professors. A 2017 survey carried out by Guangzhou Gender and Sexuality Education Center and Beijing Impact Law Firm on college students and graduates showed almost 75% of women reported being sexually harassed in their lifetime, with more than 40% of incidents taking place in public space on college campuses. (By comparison, in the U.S., a 2016 report from the U.S. Department of Justice found that one in five women in college experiences sexual assault.) Ripples of the movement eventually reached beyond China’s university campuses, with a flurry of allegations embroiling leading figures in China’s NGO and media sectors coming to a head in July.

    The roots of today’s movement can be traced back to feminist campaigns several years earlier. Back in 2012, young women gained widespread attention for public performances, including wearing “bloodied” wedding dresses on Valentine’s Day in Beijing to draw attention to domestic violence, occupying men’s bathrooms in Guangzhou to protest inequality in public restrooms and protesting ****-shaming in Shanghai’s subway.

    A turning point came in 2015, when five female activists, known widely as ‘the Feminist Five,’ were detained on charges of “provoking trouble” after planning a multi-city protest to tackle sexual harassment on public transport. After international condemnation, authorities were forced to backtrack and released the women a month after their detention. “These political activists spent years making the ground fertile for the blossoming of the #MeToo movement in China today,” says Leta Hong Fincher, author of Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China.

    That blossoming hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Chinese government. Since the detention of the Feminist Five, activists say the space for raising awareness about gender equality issues has been shrinking. In the 20th century, feminism was seen as a communist principle: women rose to official positions and worked to dismantle feudal laws that dictated systems of marriage, as well as promoting women’s literacy and equal pay.

    But the younger generation of women’s rights activists works outside the system, with little resources and without the blessing of the state. In May 2017, state media pointed to “hostile forces” using “Western feminism” to interfere in the country’s affairs, a phrase that has cropped up again during this year’s wave of sexual harassment claims across the country’s social media. If the 2012 performances were planned now, says activist Xiao Yue, better known as Xiao Meili, who took part in some, “we would have been arrested before it even happened.”

    Although the number of Chinese internet users has reached over 800 million, with more than 376 million monthly active users on Weibo, censors are quick to block or delete any content deemed disruptive or sensitive. A 25-year-old former CCTV intern, Xian Zi (who asked TIME not to publish her real name for fear of reprisals), alleges that high-profile TV presenter Zhu Jun molested her in a makeup room in 2014, when she was an intern at China Central Television, the country’s state television broadcaster. (His lawyer denies her allegation and CCTV has not responded to TIME’s requests for comments.)

    “I wanted to share my own experiences with other girls,” she tells TIME of her decision to post about her experience on social media in July. “Even though I can’t guarantee what will happen when they speak up.” Her story was re-posted by another user on Weibo, but was censored after only two hours; in August, she found that posts on her own newly-created Weibo account were temporarily blocked from being re-posted for more than two weeks. Xian Zi also received multiple anonymous phone calls threatening to find her mother at home.

    In August, Zhu Jun denied the allegations in a lawyer’s letter posted online and, soon after, filed a lawsuit against Xian Zi, as well as a friend of hers who posted the story on Weibo, and the platform itself for “reputation dispute.” (Weibo did not respond to TIME’s request for comment.) In a court document reviewed by TIME, Zhu said Xian Zi’s accusations are “made up” and “seriously not factual.” He requests public apologies and asks for the posts to be deleted online, as well as $95,000 in compensation. On Sept. 25, Xian Zi filed a suit against Zhu on grounds of “personality infringement.”

    Xian Zi is set to become one of the first people in China’s #MeToo movement to confront their alleged perpetrator in court. Her story is one of many social media posts detailing experiences of sexual harassment that have been censored. But while posts may be repeatedly deleted on social media, traces of the stories and debates can still be found online. “The waves that people created won’t disappear in vain,” says Lu Pin. Activists say there seems to be a growing awareness about sexual harassment among internet users and #MeToo activists have managed to creatively circumvent censorship in a variety of ways—distorting images, using emojis, manipulating Chinese characters and using codes sourced from Github.

    Some share other women’s stories on their own social media, drawing attention to their cases and creating a kind of virtual support network. One hashtag referencing sexual harassment within China’s rock music circuit, loosely translated as #RockCircleMe2, began circulating on Weibo in July and received over 8 million views and more than 7,000 posts on the topic. A loose, decentralized web of volunteers has managed to make the movement more resistant to the tide of authoritarianism. “When the authorities know that you are an organizer, they can come to catch or harass you,” says Xiao. “But now everybody is the organizer.”
    continued next post
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  5. #125
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    Continued from previous post


    Female protesters shout slogans during a rally against 'spy-cam porn' in central Seoul on Aug. 4, 2018. Ed Jones—AFP/Getty Images

    Seo, the South Korean prosecutor, has been on medical leave since her television interview in January, enjoying spending more time with her 10-year-old son. She tells TIME that she still hasn’t received an apology regarding the incident or her treatment afterward. “I think that nothing has changed in the Prosecutor’s Office. I’ve heard that they still think of me as an enemy who disgraced the Office, and that they are still not trusting my words.”

    Seo isn’t the only woman in South Korea to face severe backlash. Lawyer Lee Eun-eui, who successfully sued her employer, Samsung, in a landmark sexual harassment lawsuit back in 2008, says 80% of her clients are claiming cases relating to workplace discrimination and harassment. Many end up being denounced as “gold-diggers,” receiving a torrent of online abuse, and even being countersued by alleged perpetrators of harassment or assault. “In these scenarios, who would have the courage to speak out?” she asks, sipping iced tea after a long day in a Seoul courtroom.

    South Koreans may not face the kind of restrictive censorship coming from the government in China, but many are acutely aware of the dangers of being seen to support feminist causes. Some wear face masks at rallies, wary of having their personal details leaked to the public, being fired, stalked or even the threat of acid attacks. The Inconvenient Courage group that organizes rallies in Seoul also chooses to remain anonymous. They focus on fighting the country’s spy-cam porn epidemic—the well-documented problem of hidden cameras in Korea’s public toilets and changing rooms. That secretly captured footage regularly makes its way to online pornography websites—leading to almost 6,500 cases reported in 2017, according to police.

    Still, clad in masks or not, women are turning out in unprecedented numbers. In August, over 40,000 women attended an anti-spy-cam porn rally; later that month August, 20,000 took to the streets of the capital after a top politician was acquitted on rape charges. “Women are speaking out and fighting in solidarity because they can’t live like this anymore. This is a battle that we can’t retreat from,” Ko says.

    Despite the backlash, activists and survivors in the region remain hopeful and defiant—especially as glimmers of institutional change appear. South Korean President Moon Jae-in is calling for tougher punishments on spy-cam perpetrators, and Seoul’s government is launching a clean-up campaign to rid the city’s public toilets of hidden cameras. China announced in August a plan for new legislation that would define and target sexual harassment in workplaces, and in September, Japan’s Labor Policy Council held discussions on proposals for laws and regulations to address the same issue.

    While #MeToo and its iterations have not effected much systemic or societal change in some countries across the region, South Korea and China are two places where the culture of activism remains strong. Many women in both these countries feel hopeful about change. “I think I truly feel the meaning of #MeToo,” one survivor in Hangzhou tells TIME. “It connects every individual who had harm done to them and makes them no longer feel like they are lowly, isolated or helpless. Instead, they can form alliances, encourage each other and become the courage of each other.”

    It’s still tough to predict what survivors might achieve in terms of legislative change. But in South Korea, Seo’s testimony does seem to have changed perceptions about sexual harassment. In a society where a prosecutor is considered one of the most prestigious jobs, many were shocked to realize that even powerful women like Seo were vulnerable to sexual harassment and silenced. As with celebrities speaking out in Hollywood, her case exposed how pervasive the problem is. “She really shook the stereotype of sexual violence victims,” says Bae Eun-kyung, Professor of Gender Studies at Seoul National University.

    And in both China and South Korea, the broader cultural impact of speaking out in such challenging environments is creating a groundswell of support and solidarity. Women like Seo and Xian Zi want nothing less than to change how survivors of abuse are perceived. “South Korea has a culture of demanding that victims act like victims: they should always be in pain, and cry, and cannot be happy,” Seo says. “I want to show the image of the survivor as happy and confident.”

    With reporting by Jinyoung Park / Seoul
    Surprised that TIME didn't go into the #米兔 aspect in China.
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  6. #126
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    Yue Xin

    This is far worse than what happened to Fan Bingbing.

    Young Chinese #MeToo and Labor Rights Activist Has Been Missing for Weeks After Being Detained by Police
    Esther Wang
    10/12/18 3:21pm


    Image: AP

    Yue Xin, a #MeToo activist in China, has been missing for more than six weeks, after she was detained by state police at the end of August over her participation in a labor rights protest. It’s a grim reminder that activists in China can—and often do—face extreme repercussions for their organizing.

    As reported by the South China Morning Post, no one has reported seeing Yue, a 22-year-old recent graduate of Peking University, since her detention, raising alarm over her whereabouts.

    Yue has been one of the most vocal proponents of the #MeToo movement in China, which took off earlier this year after numerous students on college campuses began accusing their professors of sexual harassment and assault. In April, while still a student at Peking University, she demanded that school officials release information over its handling of a decades-long case in which a professor had been accused of raping one of his students; that student, Gao Yan, later died by suicide.

    Her request clearly alarmed the university. In an open letter Yue published later that month—one that was quickly censored by authorities—she detailed the harassment she faced from university officials over her request:

    Since April 9, I’ve been in constant discussion with the teachers and leadership at the university’s Office of Student Affairs, twice continuing till one or two in the morning. In the course of these talks, the Office has repeatedly brought up “whether you can successfully graduate,” “what must your mother and grandmother think,” and “we have the authority to contact parents directly, without going through you.” Moreover, I’ll soon be preparing my final thesis, and the frequent disruptions and ensuing psychological pressure have severely affected my work on that.

    ...

    At about 11 in the evening on April 22, my adviser suddenly tried to call, but because it was already late, I missed it. At 1 a.m., my adviser abruptly came to my dormitory with my mother, woke me up, and demanded that I delete all data related to the freedom of information request from my phone and computer, and that I go to the Office of Student Affairs the next morning to guarantee in writing that I’d have no more to do with the matter. Other students on my floor can verify this. Soon afterwards, my parents took me home, and I still haven’t been able to return to school.

    My mother and I didn’t sleep all night. When the school contacted her, they twisted the facts to scare her and break her spirits. Because of the school’s aggressive and unreasonable intervention, our relationship has nearly been wrecked. The school’s actions at this point had crossed a line. I was scared, but furious.
    In August, Yue and dozens of other student activists traveled to the southern Chinese city of Shenzhen to support a group of factory workers at Jasic Technology who were demanding the right to form a union. But in the early morning hours on August 24, police dressed in riot gear stormed into the apartment where the students were staying and arrested Yue and about 50 others.

    According to the SCMP:

    Most of the protesters detained in August have since been released, but four have been placed under “residential surveillance at a designated location”—a form of secret detention—while four others are still in custody and could face prosecution, according to their friends and other activists.

    But the whereabouts of Yue, as well as her mother, who has been out of contact since early September, remain unknown.
    In a recent interview with Jezebel, Leta Hong Fincher, the author of Betraying Big Brother: The Feminist Awakening in China, described why government leaders are so alarmed by the activities of students like Yue: “All of these overlapping forms of movements, they are very destabilizing for the government. And we don’t know how stable the Communist Party is. And so this is another reason why the Party is so paranoid.”

    Before her arrest, Yue explained her motivations for supporting the workers at Jasic Technology to the SCMP: “More than 30 innocent workers have been locked up already and treated inhumanely. I cannot just sit back and be OK with just voicing my support online—I have to go to the front line. I’m prepared to be arrested…but it’s not about being arrested or not.”

    She added: “It’s about believing that what you are doing is about justice, then you will have no fear.”
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  7. #127
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    Declined to file

    DECEMBER 21, 2018 12:08PM PT
    D.A. Declines to Charge Steven Seagal in Sexual Assault Case
    By GENE MADDAUS
    Senior Media Writer
    @GeneMaddaus


    CREDIT: YURI KOCHETKOV/EPA-EFE/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

    For the second time this year, the L.A. County District Attorney’s office has declined to file a sexual assault charge against actor Steven Seagal.

    A woman came forward to the LAPD to allege that Seagal had sexually assaulted her in the summer of 2002. The D.A.’s Hollywood sex crimes task force reviewed case, but determined that the statute of limitations had expired.

    The D.A.’s office did not identify the alleged victim. However, attorney Lisa Bloom said that the case involves her client, former model Faviola Dadis. In January, Dadis told the Wrap that Seagal had groped her during an audition. She said Seagal asked her to strip down to a bikini, and then wanted to do a “romantic scene” with her. She said she was uncomfortable with that.

    “And then he started pinching my nipples and grabbing my crotch area with his other hand,” she told the Wrap. “I quickly yelled ‘This audition is over!’”

    In a statement, Bloom said the case was not charged solely because the law requires that older cases include independent, corroborating evidence.

    “We appreciate the DA’s office’s careful review of this case,” Bloom said. “Its hands are tied by this unfair law which bars the courthouse door even to young women like my client, Faviola Dadis, who is highly credible. The law fails to recognize that few minors are emotionally ready to seek justice against their rapists until many years later. Instead, it offers rapists a “get out of jail free” card if they simply pass an arbitrary time deadline. And the law seems to presume that victims are lying, creating an unfairly high evidentiary standard not required in other criminal cases. Few rapists commit their crimes in the presence of witnesses.”

    The D.A.’s office also declined to charge Seagal in September, after receiving an allegation that had been investigated by the Beverly Hills Police Department. In that case, a woman alleged that he had sexually assaulted her in 1993. That case also fell outside the statute of limitations. In January, the Wrap reported that actress Regina Simons accused Seagal of raping her in 1993. Eleven other woman, including actresses Portia de Rossi and Julianna Margulies, have also accused Seagal of sexual misconduct.

    Seagal is a Russian citizen, and earlier this year was appointed as a special envoy to improve U.S.-Russia relations. In 2017, he was banned from visiting Ukraine for five years, due to his support for Russian President Vladimir Putin.
    THREADS:
    Seagal is at it again
    An Open Secret: Hollywood - Please Watch
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  8. #128
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    Kevin Spacey...



    *Cont'd next post...

  9. #129
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    ...Continued from previous post...


  10. #130
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    More Spacey video...

    ... but not the one he wants to show.

    Kevin Spacey’s Accuser Made Video of Encounter, Massachusetts Documents Say
    More details of a sexual-assault allegation against Kevin Spacey were released this week by the authorities.


    More details of a sexual-assault allegation against Kevin Spacey were released this week by the authorities. Credit Ben Stansall/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
    By Sopan Deb
    Dec. 27, 2018

    An 18-year-old man told detectives in Massachusetts last year that the actor Kevin Spacey unzipped his pants and rubbed his genitalia in a sexual manner “for about three minutes” after 1 a.m. at a crowded bar in Nantucket in July 2016 — and that while this was occurring, the man sent video of the exchange through Snapchat to his girlfriend.

    These are some of the details of the investigation behind a coming charge of indecent assault and battery for Mr. Spacey that were made public this week as a result of a criminal complaint filed in Nantucket District Court.

    Email messages to the lawyer who represented Mr. Spacey at a recent hearing, as well as to his representative, went unreturned on Thursday.

    The accusations of misconduct against the actor were first brought to light by a former Boston television anchor, Heather Unruh, who said at a news conference last year that Mr. Spacey sexually assaulted her son at the bar, the Club Car.

    According to the newly released documents, the man was a busboy who was working till midnight on or around July 7, 2016. He told investigators on Nov. 22, 2017 — more than a year after the encounter — that Mr. Spacey arrived at around 11:30 p.m. with his manager. After his shift ended, the two were introduced and immediately started having several drinks together. The accuser said he told Mr. Spacey he was 23, even though he was actually 18.

    At one point, the two were beside a piano at the bar, where Mr. Spacey and the accuser had been singing songs. He said Mr. Spacey put his left hand on his thigh and then unzipped his pants, before rubbing his *****.

    The accuser said he was not sure what to do and proceeded to send a video of the encounter to his girlfriend, whom he had been texting and who did not initially believe what was going on. Mr. Spacey left to go to the bathroom and the accuser, who said he was distraught, left to go home.

    The criminal complaint includes interviews with other people, including the accuser’s girlfriend, who told the authorities that the Snapchat video showed Mr. Spacey “touching the front” of the accuser’s “pants by his crotch.”

    A bartender who was working at the Club Car that night told detectives that he remembered Mr. Spacey being there with the accuser but did not see any sexual assault.

    A bystander told the police something similar, and that the accuser looked “pale, blank, a bit frightened.”

    Mr. Spacey, who has been accused by more than a dozen people of sexual misconduct, is set to be arraigned on Jan. 7, the first criminal charge against him resulting from an accusation.

    His only public response so far has been a bizarre video posted on Twitter on Monday after initial news of the felony charge broke. In that video, he seemed to be in character as Frank Underwood — whom he played in the Netflix show “House of Cards.”

    A lawyer for the accuser declined to comment.

    In the fall, the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office declined to prosecute Mr. Spacey in connection with an allegation that he sexually assaulted a man in West Hollywood in 1992. However, Mr. Spacey is still being investigated in connection with an accusation that Los Angeles County officials received in August. The details about that case have not been made public.

    “We have a case that remains under review,” Ricardo Santiago, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County district attorney, said in an email on Thursday. “That is all we have to say at this moment.”

    Mr. Spacey is also reportedly under investigation by law enforcement in London about several accusations of inappropriate behavior.


    A version of this article appears in print on Dec. 27, 2018, on Page A17 of the New York edition with the headline: Complaint Says Accuser Filmed Spacey
    Gene Ching
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  11. #131
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    toxic masculinity & sissy men?

    Here's the ad if you haven't seen it.


    01/16/2019, 03:48pm
    Gillette is not wrong


    In a new ad campaign, Gillette challenges "toxic masculinity" by playing on its 30-year-old tagline "The best a man can get." | screen grab via YouTube

    By Mona Charen

    Is the new Gillette razor ad a radical feminist attack on masculinity — the commercial embodiment of a woke sensibility?

    I was prepared to think so. But having watched it twice, I find a lot to like.

    The ad has been panned by some conservative commentators. With all due respect, I think they are falling into a trap. They seem to have accepted the feminist framing. Feminists see culture as a Manichean struggle. It’s women versus men. Women are benign and men are malign. For society to progress, men must change. We must extirpate “toxic masculinity.”

    Understandably, this rubs conservatives the wrong way. I’ve risen to the defense of masculinity many times myself. But is the Gillette ad really “the product of mainstream radicalized feminism — and emblematic of cultural Marxism,” as Turning Point USA’s Candace Owen put it? Is it part of “a war on masculinity in America,” as Todd Starnes argued on Fox News?

    Conservatives stripping off their coats to get into this brawl are like the man who, seeing a bar fight unfold, asks, “Is this a private quarrel or can anyone join in?”

    Let’s figure out what the fight is about before taking sides.

    There were a couple of undercurrents in the Gillette ad that suggested feminist influence — the term “toxic masculinity” should itself be toxic — but overall, the ad is pretty tame, even valuable. I have no idea if it’s the best way to sell razors, but as social commentary, it’s not offensive.

    “The Best Men Can Be” begins by showing men looking the other way as boys fight, shrugging “boys will be boys.” It shows men laughing at a comedy portraying a lout pantomiming a lunge at a woman’s behind. It shows kids teasing a boy for being a “freak” or a “sissy.” These are followed by more uplifting images of men breaking up fights, interfering with men who are harassing women and being loving fathers to daughters. We hear former NFL star Terry Crews saying, “Men need to hold other men accountable.”

    These images didn’t strike me as a reproof of masculinity per se, but rather as a critique of bullying, boorishness and sexual misconduct.

    By reflexively rushing to defend men in this context, some conservatives have run smack into an irony. Imaging themselves to be men’s champions, they are actually defending behavior, like sexual harassment and bullying, that a generation or two ago conservatives were the ones condemning.

    Sexual license, crude language and retreat from personal responsibility were the hallmarks of the left. Liberals were the crowd saying: “Let it all hang out.” And “If it feels good, do it.” And “Chaste makes waste.” Feminists were the ones eyeing daggers at men who held chairs or doors for them, and insisting that a “woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”

    The left won that cultural battle. Standards of conduct for both sexes went out the window. Whereas men had once been raised to behave themselves in front of women — “Watch your language; there are ladies present” — they were instead invited to believe that women deserved no special consideration at all.

    As I’ve written many times, the #MeToo movement may conceive of itself as a protest of “traditional masculinity,” but that’s only because memories are short. It’s actually a protest against the libertine culture the sexual revolution ushered in.

    Some men are behaving really badly — harassing women, bullying each other and failing in their family responsibilities. Some women are, too, though the #MeToo movement doesn’t acknowledge that. But these behaviors are not “traditional.” They’ve always existed, of course, but they went mainstream with the counterculture, which is now the culture.

    In any case, everyone, left and right, who values decent behavior should be able to agree that encouraging men to be nonviolent, polite and respectful is not anti-male. It’s just civilized.

    Conservatives should applaud that aspect of the Gillette message. Progressives, in turn, should grapple with the overwhelming evidence that the best way to raise honorable men is with two parents. We may wish it were otherwise, but fathers — as disciplinarians, role models and loving husbands — are key to rearing happy, healthy and responsible sons, as well as self-confident, happy and high-achieving daughters.

    That’s the cultural reform we so badly need. Any corporate volunteers? Apple? Google?

    Mona Charen is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.
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  12. #132
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    Bryan Singer

    Given this film, this is as tragic as it is ironic.

    JANUARY 24, 2019 2:16pm PT by Tatiana Siegel
    Bryan Singer to Keep 'Red Sonja' Directing Gig Even After New Accusers Speak Out



    Jason LaVeris/FilmMagic
    Bryan Singer

    The director will get a fee of up to $10 million for the Millennium film.

    More than 24 hours after The Atlantic published a bombshell exposé about Bryan Singer and underage boys, Millennium Films has weighed in on the director’s fate with regards to its reboot of its film Red Sonja. Even after being accused by four men of having sex with them when they were younger than the age of consent, Singer is keeping his job.

    "I continue to be in development for Red Sonja and Bryan Singer continues to be attached," read a statement from producer Avi Lerner to The Hollywood Reporter.

    Lerner added, "The over $800 million Bohemian Rhapsody has grossed, making it the highest grossing drama in film history, is testament to his remarkable vision and acumen. I know the difference between agenda driven fake news and reality, and I am very comfortable with this decision. In America people are innocent until proven otherwise."

    It is a surprising development, given the severity of the claims and considering the number of Hollywood actors, producers and executives who have seen their careers evaporate after facing less damaging accusations. The journalists spent 12 months investigating the Bohemian Rhapsody director, beginning their piece — originally slated for Esquire — not long after Hollywood’s #MeToo movement was in full swing (the two reporters say their piece was killed by Hearst higher-ups).

    The journalists spoke to more than 50 sources, including four men who spoke about their relationship with the writer-director for the first time. One claimed that he had sex with Singer’s when he was 17. Another claimed that he and Singer had sex when he was 15. Both incidents are said to have happened in 1997 when Singer was in his early 30s.

    One of the accusers said that Singer and a network of friends had people who brought them boys. "If you weren’t young and cute enough to be their boy, you could still ingratiate yourself by bringing boys to them," he is quoted as saying.

    Victor Valdovinos — the only subject to use his name — told The Atlantic that he was a 13-year-old extra on the set of Apt Pupil when Singer — then in his 30s — sexually assaulted him. That film sparked a series of lawsuits by underage extras who were forced to disrobe entirely for a shower scene.

    In December 2017, Singer was accused of rape by Cesar Sanchez-Guzman, who said in a lawsuit that Singer raped him while aboard a yacht in Seattle in 2003 when he was 17. Singer has denied Sanchez-Guzman's allegations. Perhaps prophetically, Sanchez-Guzman told the magazine that "the industry will brush things under the rug and pretend nothing happened.

    Even with the allegations of rape, Singer was an erratic presence on set. He was fired near the end of production of Bohemian Rhapsody in December 2017, days before Sanchez-Guzman filed suit. Executives at 20th Century Fox made the move largely due to Singr’s unexplained absences from set. He was replaced by Eddie the Eagle director Dexter Fletcher, but he was still credited as sole director of the film due to DGA rules.

    Still, Millennium hired Singer to direct its reboot of a female-empowered Red Sonja that is expected to begin shooting in Bulgaria in the spring. Even more shocking, the studio was willing to pay Singer his full quote of $10 million if certain box-office milestones were met. Those negotiating came out in Singer’s favor despite the fact that he had no agent after being dropped by WME.

    At the time, Millennium execs said privately that they were willing to take the chance given the prerelease buzz on Bohemian Rhapsody, which has proved to be a huge hit, with $800 million to date worldwide at the box office. The film landed five Academy Award nominations this week, including best picture.

    In the immediate aftermath of The Atlantic article, Singer released the following statement saying the story "rehashes claims from bogus lawsuits."

    "The last time I posted about this subject, Esquire magazine was preparing to publish an article written by a ****phobic journalist who has a bizarre obsession with me dating back to 1997. After careful fact-checking and, in consideration of the lack of credible sources, Esquire chose not to publish this piece of vendetta journalism," Singer stated.

    Singer added, "That didn’t stop this writer from selling it to The Atlantic. It’s sad that The Atlantic would stoop to this low standard of journalistic integrity. Again, I am forced to reiterate that this story rehashes claims from bogus lawsuits filed by a disreputable cast of individuals willing to lie for money or attention. And it is no surprise that, with Bohemian Rhapsody being an award-winning hit, this ****phobic smear piece has been conveniently timed to take advantage of its success."
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  13. #133
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    Our newest exclusive web article

    Sexual Harassment in Kung Fu? READ #metookungfu by Marilyn Cooper

    Gene Ching
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  14. #134
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    That's an interesting article. I had heard about Kuo Lien-Ying many years ago, but had never heard anything like that about him.

    When I lived in Taiwan, I had heard about an advanced Mantis student who attempted to rape a woman he'd been assigned by his teacher to help teach. When the teacher returned, he caught him in the attempted act, beat him severely with a stick, and expelled him from the school. Apparently, news spread and this incident became fairly well-known in the Taiwan CMA community. That offending student actually had to leave Taiwan because of it, and became a fairly well-known master in the West. I know more details and who all the people involved are/were, but will not disclose it. Suffice it to say that he was NEVER based in the western United States.

    This had happened several years before I ever went to Taiwan. So I was definitely aware that sexual abuse does sometimes happen in CMA, but before reading that article, I had not been aware of how pervasive it seems to be.
    Last edited by Jimbo; 01-29-2019 at 10:24 AM.

  15. #135
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    #mitu for Doze Niu

    I don't know this director or his work at all. Anyone?

    FEBRUARY 3, 2019 4:29AM PT
    ‘Monga’ Director Doze Niu Charged With Forced Sex
    By PATRICK FRATER
    Asia Bureau Chief


    Taiwanese film director Doze Niu (C) speaks to reporters at a police station in Taipei, Taiwan, 07 December 2018. On 07 December Niu was questioned by police for allegedly sexually assaulting a female film crew member at his Taipei home in late November. The shooting of his new film 'Pao Ma' has been suspended due to the scandal. Niu is the third Taiwanese film industries personality to be embroiled in a sexual assault scandal after film director Chang Tso-chi and radio host Chin Wei.Taiwanese film director Doze Niu accused of sexual assault, Taipei, Taiwan - 07 Dec 2018
    CREDIT: DAVID CHANG/EPA-EFE/REX/SHUTTERSTOCK

    Leading Taiwan film director, Doze Niu (aka Niu Chen-zer) has been charged with forced sexual intercourse. If found guilty, he faces a jail term of between three and ten years.

    The alleged incident occurred in November last year, during the shooting of Niu’s current film project “Pao Ma.” Following evenings drinks at his home with crew, Niu is alleged to have forced himself on a female crew member. She reported the incident to police the next day.

    When the allegations became public knowledge in December, Niu denied assault. He said that the liaison had been consensual, and that the two had been in a romantic relationship. Niu was set free on bail, but not allowed to leave Taiwan. He has made no public comment since the formal charges.

    In a statement on Friday, the Taipei Prosecutors Office said that Niu had showed neither regret, nor understanding of the gravity of the impact of sexual assault. The prosecutor also said that Niu had attempted to deflect the blame, and had that Niu had suggested that the woman was partially at fault.

    In December, Niu said that he had already been tried and found guilty by the media. “There is another public trial going on now and I have already been handed a death sentence,” he said, in December. “Doze Niu is dead.”

    Taiwanese and other Asian media have published accounts of Niu’s behavior towards other women. They suggested that Niu had abused his position as director to pressure actresses Janine Chang and Shu Qi into unnecessary nudity.

    Actress, Ke Huan-ru used Facebook to recount allegations of inappropriate behavior during the shooting of a bedroom scene in 2007 film “What on Earth Have I Done Wrong?,” in which Niu was both director and the male star. The scene was not used in the final version of the film.

    Niu, a child star who later turned director, hit the big time with 2010 gangster drama “Monga.” The film picked up multiple prizes at the Golden Horse Awards, Asian Film Awards and at the Asia-Pacific Film Festival.

    In 2014, he was found guilty of taking a Chinese national onto a Taiwanese naval base, during the preparation of “Paradise in Service.” He was fined and given a suspended jail service.
    Gene Ching
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