fredag 21. august 2026

After a sexual assault case went viral, China’s corporate drinking culture is under fire

What started as a business dinner between local officials and executives celebrating a lucrative real-estate deal has sparked public outcry in China, after two men were accused of sexually assaulting a woman in their party.

Authorities in the affluent tech hub of Hangzhou have placed a senior executive and a public official under criminal detention for allegedly “forcibly molesting” the woman at a karaoke bar after their dinner, according to an official report of the ongoing investigation. The woman was injured and had to be hospitalized, the report said. Both men have been dismissed from their posts.

News of the case swiftly went viral across Chinese social media after being made public in recent days, racking up over half a billion views on the X-like platform Weibo alone.