Police in northwestern China are cracking down on writers of online erotic fiction across the country, including many college students, according to RFA sources and media reports, amid concern that officers are punishing people outside their jurisdiction.
Police in Lanzhou, the capital of Gansu province, have been summoning writers who don’t even live there. A report from Caixin media group said some have been referred to police for prosecution, and anecdotal evidence indicates writers are facing substantial fines.
A source who spoke to Radio Free Asia on condition of anonymity for safety reasons said the crackdown could involve 200-300 writers.
Their cases have also sparked a legal debate over the definition of “obscene materials” and renewed public discussion on the boundaries of creative freedom. Known as “Danmei,” the genre features romantic relationships between male characters. It originated in Japan and has become popular in China.
Amid tightened restrictions in China, many writers have turned to Haitang Culture, a Taiwanese-based adult fiction website established in 2015 to publish their work. The website on the democratic island doesn’t force censorship and allows explicit written content. Most readers are females.
Authorities in China have reacted. Last year, two China-based distributors affiliated with Haitang Culture were arrested for “assisting in information network criminal activities,” according to Shuiping Jiyuan, a news portal on the WeChat social media platform.
The recent police crackdown in Lanzhou followed similar moves in the eastern province of Anhui in June 2024, where authorities began arresting writers of online erotic fiction under the charge of “producing and distributing obscene materials for profit,” resulting in heavy fines and even prison sentences.
Police are seeking out writers even when they leave outside their jurisdiction - a practice that critics call “offshore fishing,” implying the motive of police is financial or political, rather than strictly legal.
“I don’t understand what they’re trying to do—are they pushing political correctness, or are they just desperate for money?” said Liu Yang, a veteran media professional in Lanzhou, told Radio Free Asia. “The police are short on funds, and now even arrests have become a way to make money.”
Hey, thanks for implying that I can’t read or think critically when the topic of China comes up. I really appreciate it.
I already read through the entirety of the deeply shitty RFA article you posted so that you couldn’t dismiss my criticism by saying I hadn’t read it. How many more deeply shitty articles must I read to satisfy you?
Will you do me the courtesy of reading an article about China that I suggest? Specifically, this one: https://redsails.org/china-has-billionaires/
You know, actually, maybe the article I just linked satisfies the brief. There’s a problem in China (there are billionaires) and here’s an article about that problem that I think is actually quite decent. In particular, note the copious citations. If you want to check for yourself any of the claims in that article, you can, because the citation is right there and will point you to where the claim came from. The citations in this piece are night and day compared to the “citations” (there weren’t any) in the RFA article you posted.