Cyberbullying struggle prioritized

Recent tragedies caused by cyberbullying have not only aroused massive public outrage, but also prompted national lawmakers and political advisers to call for legislation to remedy the problem.

Having tracked trolls and bullies in cyberspace for a couple of years, Li Dongsheng, a deputy to the 14th National People's Congress, the country's top legislature, said that he will submit a suggestion on formulating a law to specialize in dealing with the cyberbullying problem to the first session of the 14th NPC, which is scheduled to open in Beijing on Sunday.

Although China has seen some achievements in the fight against cyberbullying since it first became a contentious issue, such incidents continue to take place.

Last month, the death of Zheng Linghua, a 23-year-old woman who had been bullied online because she dyed her hair pink, triggered widespread attention, with some topics about the incident viewed over 100 million times on social media platform Sina Weibo.

The postgraduate student became the target of cyberbullying in July after she posted on social media platforms such as Douyin and Weibo photographs and videos of her proudly showing her postgraduate admission letter to her grandfather on his hospital bed. The cyberbullies went after her for her hair, which she had dyed pink.

Some netizens likened her to a nightclub worker, a seductress or a monster, while others even forwarded the photos and fabricated rumors that they showed an elderly man married to a young woman.

Zheng washed the dye from her hair after falling into depression due to the harassment, and suffered eating and sleep disorders. She tried to initiate a lawsuit against the alleged attackers, but the case was halted after she was hospitalized for depression, China Youth Daily reported.

Zheng's lawyer confirmed in a statement that Zheng died on Jan 23, and called for cyberbullying to be brought to a rapid end.

On Thursday, the cyberspace administration and police in Sangzhi county, Hunan province, stated their commitment to tackling an alleged cyberbullying case targeting a local high school student.

At a gathering held on Feb 24 to mark the 100-day countdown to the national college entrance exam at Sangzhi No 1 High School, a girl was elected as a representative to give a speech and motivate her classmates.

The video of her speech quickly went viral on Weibo. Some netizens found the speech invigorating, but a few made vicious posts on her facial expressions and overall appearance. As of Tuesday, 116 such posts were removed and 87 accounts were suspended.

The girl was also given psychological counseling by the school to ensure the comments had no negative effect on her mental state, according to a report from Hubei province-based Jimu News.

"The reason why such incidents still take place lies in the vague definition of cyberbullying in current laws. This makes the cost of violations very low, but efforts to protect rights are very high," said Li, the NPC deputy, who is also the founder and chairman of Chinese consumer electronics company TCL Electronics Holdings Ltd.

Highlighting the significance of a special law against cyberbullying to better protect the online environment, he also suggested the country establish a blacklist of attackers, punishing them by closing their accounts, banning their posts or limiting their views.

"In addition, it's essential to set up a quick channel for the public to report cyberbullying as well as to lower the price of collecting evidence for victims," he added.

As of press time, a topic on the suggested blacklist has been viewed over 70 million times on Sina Weibo, with many netizens supporting Li and calling for timely implementation.

Last year, a number of national legislators and political advisers suggested online platforms should help combat cyberbullying by technical means, adding that attackers needed to be held liable.

To offer a safer online environment, the Cyberspace Administration of China, the nation's top internet regulator, required online platforms and websites at the end of 2022 to focus more on cyberbullying prevention, urging them to provide a quick channel for netizens to collect cyberbullying-related evidence and helping them refuse unfriendly comments from strangers through technical measures.