"After an employee’s allegations went viral, will Chinese companies adopt anti-harassment policies?", 16 September 2021

On Tuesday, an Alibaba manager threatened a defamation lawsuit against a female colleague who accused him of sexually assaulting her on a business trip. The same day, a Beijing court dismissed Zhou Xiaoxuan’s lawsuit against Zhu Jun, a Chinese TV star, for sexually harassing her when she interned at the state broadcaster CCTV. Zhu is also suing for defamation. [...]

Alibaba’s CEO, Daniel Zhang, announced the company would “expedite the formation of an anti-sexual harassment policy” and “establish a dedicated reporting channel” with follow-up from “a dedicated professional.” Companies like iQiyi, Sina Weibo and Trip.com announced plans to develop similar policies, and consultants received a deluge of calls from companies asking for training and advice.

Article 1010 of China’s Civil Code, effective as of January, states that enterprises, government organs and schools “shall take reasonable precautions, accept and hear complaints, investigate and handle cases, and take other like measures to prevent and stop sexual harassment.” But the threat of scandal, rather than the Civil Code, seems to be prompting Chinese companies to get anti-sexual misconduct policies on the books. These three factors help explain why the law falls short. [...]