JUDGING THE ONLINE JUDGES: THE TWO #METOO CASES IN HONG KONG
JUDGING THE ONLINE JUDGES: THE TWO #METOO CASES IN HONG KONG

Summary/Abstract: On November 30, 2017, Hong Kong track athlete Vera Lui posted a photo on Facebook marked with the #MeToo hashtag and described an experience of being sexually assaulted. Three days later, Hong Kong actress Louisa Mak published a similar #MeToo post on her Facebook page. While both posts, especially Lui’s, initially received many supportive comments, over time, the comments became negative and victim-blaming. Since these incidents, no other Hong Kong celebrities have risked revealing their experiences to respond to the #MeToo Movement. In this paper, I analysed the first 500 comments posted on each of the posts using qualitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis. The results reveal the practice of online judging that inhibits the disclosure of cases of sexual assault. The paper further describes the interplay between online judging and selective law enforcement by the Hong Kong Police, which has been a persistent issue in Hong Kong.

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