by Dr. Luwei Rose Luqiu, Hong Kong Baptist University

The analysis focuses on digital activism against sexual misconduct in higher education in China demonstrates the dynamic of digital activism in an authoritarian regime, explicating how different stakeholders are involved in addressing sexual misconduct in higher education. Digital activism in China is contingent on the power balance between individual/collective social media advocacy and state institutions and within different state institutions, i.e., news media, universities, and policy makers. While social media outlets serve as platforms and hubs for information flows due to their de-centralized characteristics, they lack the authority and leverage to influence the state. In digital activism, news media should function as non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to channel online information to the broader public, thereby empowering and sustaining grassroots advocacy. In addition, in-system members are an important source of alliances to pressure policy makers to change. However, news media, universities, and professionals in higher education are all part of the state apparatus, and their power and benefits are contingent on those of other stakeholders, making it difficult for them to act independently from the state to advocate for social change.

Luwei Rose Luqiu is Assistant Professor at the School of Communication, Hong Kong Baptist University. She was a Nieman fellow at Harvard University in 2006 and received her PhD in Mass Communication from Pennsylvania State University. Previously she worked as a television journalist, producer and presenter in Hong Kong for 20 years.

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