China’s Corporate Drinking Culture Under Fire After Viral Sexual Assault Case

What started as a business dinner between local officials and executives celebrating a lucrative real-estate deal has sparked public outcry in China after two men were accused of sexually assaulting a woman in their party.

Authorities in the affluent tech hub of Hangzhou have placed a senior executive and a public official under criminal detention for allegedly “forcibly molesting” the woman at a karaoke bar after their dinner, according to an official report of the ongoing investigation.

The woman was injured and had to be hospitalized, the report said. Both men have been dismissed from their posts.

News of the case swiftly went viral across Chinese social media after being made public in recent days, racking up over half a billion views on the X-like platform Weibo alone.

The case has placed renewed attention on China’s entrenched culture of work-related drinking. In a country where men dominate positions of power in business and government, boozy business dinners are notorious for putting female employees in risky positions.

Chinese authorities have repeatedly silenced #MeToo moments in China and cracked down on activism against sexual harassment. Workplace sexual assault cases are rarely filed in court, and women who have brought high-profile cases have faced backlash and censorship.

But this case also intersects with Beijing’s years-long campaign against official graft, cronyism and excess. That includes lavish dinners with free-flowing alcohol, part of a culture that Chinese leader Xi Jinping views as a threat to the ruling Communist Party’s power and the country’s economic growth.

State media have published a series of commentaries criticizing what they described as a “distorted culture of excessive drinking at business dinners.” Much of the official criticism has focused on the drinking culture surrounding the incident.

Outside official coverage, however, the case has prompted widespread discussion on social media about gender dynamics and the pressure women can face at corporate drinking gatherings.

Local media reported that the woman was an employee of a real estate company who had been called by her boss to join the gathering, where she was pressured to drink.

Some social media users said women can be treated as “sacrifices” or “bargaining chips” at such events. Others said employees who decline invitations risk being labeled uncooperative and potentially harming their careers.

The case has drawn comparisons to a highly publicized 2021 incident involving a young female employee at Chinese technology giant Alibaba, who accused her boss and a client of sexually assaulting her following a business dinner.

In that case, the client was sentenced to 18 months in prison. The woman who made the accusation was ultimately fired, while the court dismissed the case against her manager.

China has tightened laws concerning workplace sexual harassment in recent years. New rules implemented in 2023 require employers to take certain measures to prevent sexual harassment of women. A 2021 revision to the country’s civil code also allowed people to file sexual harassment claims against alleged offenders.

Critics, however, say the legislation remains underdeveloped and is not used often enough.

In Hangzhou, several companies have initiated internal accountability measures as the investigation continues. Authorities have pledged to handle the case seriously and without leniency.

CNN Newsource contributed to this report.