Salacious, scandalous, salivating-ly urban culturesque. Temper hooks up with Date Night China (DNC) and Matt Bossons from China Untold as they recap some of the most outrageous sex scandals to hit China in the past five years, starting with the most piquant of them all: The Uniqlo sex tape that broke the Internet.
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Now, for a bit of background: porn is entirely illegal in China, be it the production of porn or simple possession of pornographic material. In the early 2000s, the Chinese government cracked down on online pornography, reportedly shutting down hundreds of websites that hosted material deemed indecent.
In 2004, a Chinese woman named Wang Yanli was jailed for four years for running an online strip show. Two years later, the Chinese founder of pornographic website Erotica Juneday was sentenced to life behind bars.
Despite the potential for harsh punishment, some braze exhibitionists still opted to create their own amateur pornographic videos for personal and public enjoyment. So without further ado, as we now you’re all frothing at the mouth at this point:
Here are three sex scandals that set the Chinese internet on fire.
Image via Getty Images
The UNIQLO Sex Tape
The Uniqlo sex tape was unquestionably the most talked about Chinese social media story in 2015, receiving international media attention by the likes of BBC, Vice, the Guardian, Wall Street Journal and South China Morning Post.
The 1-minute and 10-second porn video made its way online in July of 2015 and featured a Chinese man and women bumping uglies in a Uniqlo changing room in Beijing’s popular Sanlitun shopping and dining area. While the man in the video is largely clothed, the young woman is completely naked; that – along with the obvious penetration – rendered the video very much illegal in China. The fact it was filmed in a public place added insult to injury.
Once released, the graphic clip spread quickly on Chinese social media platforms Weibo and WeChat. This attention led authorities to act quickly, and within hours of the video’s release online, the couple in the footage were reportedly arrested.
Minor detail: It’s become popular for people to take photos outside the UNIQLO in Sanlitun where this scandal happened.
Temper asks: What, to you, do these sex scandals you listed (2015-2020) tell us about the state or evolution of Chinese society’s thoughts on sex and porn? If anything, that is. How far removed from one another are the online realm and the physical realm in this regard?
Bossons tells: “To be honest, I’m not sure those sex scandals tell us much at all, aside from the fact that people are the same no matter where you go – horny and occasionally risk-takers. Young people in countries across the Western world film similar videos and engage in similar sexual stunts daily, so I think it merely highlights that young people in China and America and Canada and elsewhere all share a lot in common. I suppose you could argue that young people in China today are more sexually open than their parent’s generation, which could be due to the influx of Western media and influences that have arrived in the country in the past two decades. Still, I haven’t done enough research on that to have a definite opinion – it’s merely speculation.”
Image: online
The IKEA Sex Video Blow Out
Pun intended. In 2019, an amateur pornographic video featuring a young woman masturbating in a Chinese IKEA went viral in early May, forcing the Swedish home décor company to issue a statement on May 9.
The graphic footage shows a half-naked Chinese woman masturbating on furniture throughout the furniture warehouse’s showroom as seemingly oblivious customers – including children – wander around in the background. The porno was quickly scrubbed from Chinese social media, although it can still be found on Western pornographic websites, such as Pornhub.
In its statement, IKEA China firmly condemned the video and the sexual acts that took place on its premises and stated that they have notified police of the incident.
The response was posted on the company’s official Weibo page and reads: “IKEA calls on consumers to visit IKEA in a civilized and orderly manner and jointly maintain a good shopping environment.”
Bossons tells: “Like many things in China, the quality of sex education varies greatly depending on where you are. I am no expert by any stretch, but I’ve read enough to know that sex education in major cities and more prominent schools will be better than underdeveloped rural areas that are still working to escape poverty. I also think it is fair to assume that sex education in China in 2021 is far superior to what was offered two decades ago, but that’s merely speculation. As for sexual liberation, it depends who you talk to; there are tons of sexually liberal young folks in China who are happy to experiment and push the envelope in terms of sexual freedom. But, traditional Confucius values, family pressure and other factors have perhaps limited the spread of sexually liberal lifestyles. In short, you can find very sexually open individuals in modern China, and you can find people that have sex for the sole purpose of procreating – it just depends where you go and who you talk to.”
Image: online
The Infamous Eel Porn
In March 2017, a disturbing porn video emerged online that literally set the Chinese internet on fire.
The shocking footage showed a woman inserting a live eel into her body and quickly became one of the most talked about trending topics on Weibo. The video shows the lower half of a naked woman who is lying on a bed. She then proceeds to put a condom over an eel’s head and upper body, before inserting it into her you-know-where.
The graphic livestream was quickly scrubbed from the Chinese interwebs, although discussion of the video remained largely uncensored with media outlets reporting on it and a torrent of eel-related memes flooding the Chinese internet.
It’s not entirely clear what happened to the woman and eel in the video, but I theorize that one of the two likely did some jail time. In 2019, reports emerged that a Chinese woman with nickname QiQi had been sentenced to a year and nine months behind bars for livestreaming sex with an eel in 2017.
Earlier reports, which surfaced in June of 2017, also noted that the vlogger had to undergo surgery because of the animal sex act.
Shoutout to Matt Bossons from China Untold for compiling these stories.
Listen to Date Night China on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and other major podcast apps. Join the Date Night China community, catch up on the latest articles and dating discussions, and hear more about upcoming events. Join the Date Night China Wechat group by adding Rachel on WeChat to request access: rachelweiss22
Matt Bossons is the host of China Untold, a podcast dedicated to sharing lesser-known stories from the world’s most populous nation. Matt is The Guest on Season 2 Episode 11 of Date Night China Podcast, discussing these sex scandals in China.
FEATURED IMAGE: online
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Perpetually in pursuit of the greater good that is “China Fashion”, van Paridon set up The China Temper to help promote the dynamite dynamic fashion scene sprouting within Beijing, Shanghai, and China overall. Catering to anybody and everybody who reads English and/or Chinese, Temper covers all the basics and bases. From China's street style scenery to its budding photographers, internationally renowned designers, and underground quirks plus phenomena: We present one hot-hip-happening current collective weaving The New "Made in China" tag.
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