Dozens of writers have been arrested in China this year for publishing gay erotica online as law enforcement's crackdown on pornography increasingly targets LGBTQ+ stories.
Police have arrested as many as 50 writers in Gansu in the past several weeks, according to The New York Times, which spoke with two lawyers representing detained authors who said they knew of at least six other cases. Other attorneys told the BBC that at least 30 writers, nearly all of them women in their 20s, have been arrested across the country since February.
Many of the writers were arrested after publishing on the Taiwan-based adult fiction website Haitang Literature, which allows authors to earn money through tips and subscriptions. One of the most popular genres on the website is "danmei" — romantic and sexual relationships between men.
Dozens of writers have been arrested in China this year for publishing gay erotica online as law enforcement's crackdown on pornography increasingly targets LGBTQ+ stories.
Police have arrested as many as 50 writers in Gansu in the past several weeks, according to The New York Times, which spoke with two lawyers representing detained authors who said they knew of at least six other cases. Other attorneys told the BBC that at least 30 writers, nearly all of them women in their 20s, have been arrested across the country since February.
Many of the writers were arrested after publishing on the Taiwan-based adult fiction website Haitang Literature, which allows authors to earn money through tips and subscriptions. One of the most popular genres on the website is "danmei" — romantic and sexual relationships between men.
Some of the writers have come forward about their arrests on the social media platform Weibo only to be censored or taken down. One woman wrote, as first reported by the BBC, "I'll never forget it — being escorted to the car in full view, enduring the humiliation of stripping naked for examination in front of strangers, putting on a vest for photos, sitting in the chair, shaking with fear, my heart pounding."