China recently held its national college entrance exam (Gaokao). Outside an exam venue in Shandong, a female student interviewed by the media expressed hope that the "age of sexual consent" would be raised from 14 to 18. The video was taken down from Chinese online platforms, but the incident trended on Weibo on Thursday, with many netizens supporting the student's viewpoint.
On the 8th, outside a Gaokao (National College Entrance Examination) test center in Shandong, a female student was interviewed by a reporter. When asked if the exam was difficult, she replied it was manageable. The reporter then asked if she had anything else to say, and after some thought, the student said she hoped "the age of sexual consent could be raised to 18."
The video spread widely online but was soon taken down from Weibo, Douyin, and other Chinese social media platforms that same day, with no reason disclosed. After the video was removed, the female student's name, school, home address, and other personal information were exposed by netizens, resulting in targeted attacks against her.
The topic continued to ferment online, with "Gaokao Girl's Video Taken Down" rising to as high as No. 2 on Weibo's hot search today.
On Weibo, many netizens responded, starting their posts with "Here I am," and voiced support for "raising the legal age of sexual consent to 18."
Some netizens remarked, "At 14, you can't ride an e-bike, can't play video games (minors have restricted gaming time), can't buy tobacco or alcohol, yet you can consent to sex," "Teenage romance is called 'puppy love' and strictly forbidden, doesn't it feel contradictory to set sexual consent at 14?" and "Those who oppose it just want to target minors."
According to China's current criminal law, "having sexual intercourse with a girl under the age of fourteen shall be deemed as rape and be punished more severely," which leads the public to generally regard the age of consent as 14. In Taiwan, the age of sexual autonomy is 16.