A popular Chinese author of erotic fiction has been sentenced to over ten years in prison for "producing and selling pornographic materials".
Working under the pseudonym Tianyi, the author, whose surname is Liu, was noticed by authorities after her novel Occupy began receiving attention online, where it sold over 7,000 copies. The book is understood to have explored LGBTIQ+ themes and involved a forbidden affair between a teacher and student.
The New York Times reports that Liu's writing falls under an increasingly popular Chinese genre known by its fans as 'boys' love', gaining notoriety on local social media platform Weibo - which has itself been the target of anti-gay censorship in the past.
According to The Guardian, authorities in the Anhui city of Wuhu, where Liu was sentenced to ten and a half years last month, said the book was “full of perverted sexual acts such as violation and abuse”.
However, human rights activists were quick to slam the decade-long sentence, pointing to China's comparatively lax sentencing for rape and assault.
“The punishment for rape can be three years,” said Deng Xueping, deputy director of the Shanghai office of Capital Equity Legal Group, reports NYT.
“Selling pornography or raping a girl — which is more harmful?”
Sophie Richardson, China director for Human Rights Watch, also expressed her dismay at the sentencing: “Ten years in jail for writing a book and selling it online?”
She added: “I don’t know what’s beyond the pale, but this must be it.”
