Anger has surged on Chinese social media following reports of online groups, reportedly comprising hundreds of thousands of men sharing unauthorized photos of women, including explicit images.

A report published last week by Southern Metropolis outlined a group on the encrypted messaging app Telegram, known as the “Mask Park Tree Hall Forum.” This group boasts over 100,000 members and claims to be “exclusively composed of Chinese men.”

These individuals allegedly circulated sexually explicit images of women, captured either in private settings or through hidden cameras disguised as everyday objects such as plug sockets and shoes.

The incident has drawn parallels to South Korea’s “nth room” scandal, where women were coerced into sharing explicit photos within a Telegram group.

While Telegram is blocked in China, users can still access it via a virtual private network (VPN) that bypasses location restrictions.

The hashtag linked to the scandal had garnered over 110 million views on Weibo by Thursday. However, there are signs of censorship, as some related searches yield results indicating, “According to relevant laws and regulations, this content cannot be viewed.” Earlier reports from Reuters noted the hashtag received over 270 million views.

“Women’s lives are not a male erotic novel,” commented one user on Xiaohongshu, a platform similar to Instagram.

Another user on Xiaohongshu remarked:

In South Korea, the leader of the chat group received a sentence of 40 years in prison.

In China, those who photograph individuals without consent face penalties of up to 10 days of detention and a fine of 500 yuan (£53). Disseminating pornographic material can lead to prison sentences of up to two years.

The Mask Park scandal isn’t an isolated incident; last year, a tech company owner in Beijing was found to have secretly recorded over 10,000 videos of female employees in the bathroom, receiving only a 10-day detention as punishment. “Ten days are merely encouragement,” remarked one Weibo user.

Criminal law professor Lao Dongyan from Tsinghua University stated on Weibo that Chinese law treats unauthorized filming as an indecent crime, rather than a violation of women’s rights.

“Women who are secretly filmed are the primary victims. Reducing their experiences to indecency material is equivalent to categorizing them as participants in pornographic content, which is absurd,” Rao commented.

As authorities continue to limit civil discourse and behaviors, addressing feminism and women’s rights in China becomes increasingly challenging. Nonetheless, some women have discovered ways to counteract misogyny publicly, including through comedy.

In a recent episode of the popular stand-up show The King of Standup Comedy, comedian Huang Yijin humorously mentioned putting on makeup alone in his hotel room.