Senior executive embroiled in sexual assault scandal, Alibaba issues overnight apology

Compiled from: Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission's Chang'an Sword, Legal Daily, Law Home, Shandong High Court, etc.
 
Case review
On August 7, a netizen believed to be an Alibaba employee posted on social media, stating that during a business trip on July 27, their supervisor asked them to drink with clients at a KTV. After being forced to drink, they were molested by a client. At the same time, the female employee reported that upon reviewing the hotel footage afterward, the supervisor entered her hotel room multiple times that night, allegedly committing sexual assault.

 

In the early morning of August 9, Alibaba's Chairman and CEO Daniel Zhang announced the interim internal investigation results and handling decisions regarding the 'female employee being assaulted' on Alibaba's internal network.
 
The results of Alibaba's phased internal investigation and the decisions on handling the matter show: In view of Qu Yicheng admitting to having overly intimate behavior with colleague XX while intoxicated, which seriously violated company regulations, he is to be dismissed and never rehired. As for whether he committed rape or molestation or other illegal acts, we await the conclusions and actions of the police investigation.
 
At the same time, Li Yonghe, President of Alibaba's Local Retail Business Group, and HRG Xu Kun resigned to take responsibility. An internal Alibaba announcement stated that as the president of the business group, Li Yonghe's sensitivity, attention, and level of involvement in this matter were far from sufficient, and he did not take proactive action. Xu Kun also did not fulfill the key decision-making role of the business group's HRG, and thus should bear leadership responsibility.
 
In addition, Alibaba Group's Chief Human Resources Officer Tong Wenhong has been given a disciplinary record. An internal Alibaba announcement stated that throughout the handling of the entire incident, the HR team paid insufficient attention and care to people, emphasized rationality too much and sentiment too little, and lacked empathy. At the same time, there was a lack of an emergency response system and serious judgment errors; when faced with a suspected criminal case, they failed to suspend the person involved immediately. 'Behind all these phenomena is the problem with our HR in terms of cultural system and self-capacity building.'
 
 
"Criminal Law of the People's Republic of China"
Article 236 [Rape Crime]
Whoever rapes a woman by violence, coercion, or other means shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than three years but not more than ten years.
Whoever rapes a girl under the age of 14 shall be deemed to have committed rape and shall be given a heavier punishment.
Whoever rapes a woman or rapes a young girl under any of the following circumstances shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years, life imprisonment, or death:
(1) Raping a woman or sexually assaulting a young girl under aggravating circumstances;
(2) Raping multiple women or sexually assaulting multiple young girls;
(3) Raping a woman or sexually assaulting a young girl in a public place in front of others;
(4) Gang rape committed by two or more persons;
(5) Sexually assaulting a young girl under the age of ten or causing harm to a young girl;
(6) Causing serious injury, death, or other severe consequences to the victim.
 
Article 237 [Crime of Forcible Indecency and Insult]
Whoever uses violence, coercion, or other methods to forcibly molest others or insult women shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of up to five years or criminal detention.
Those who gather a crowd or commit the crime mentioned in the preceding paragraph in public, or have other severe circumstances, shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of more than five years.

 

 
[1] The author's perspective
China's current laws do not have specific provisions regarding the issue of 'sexual harassment,' but it can be seen that the relevant provisions of current laws already cover 'sexual harassment' to a certain extent. This article analyzes it from both criminal and civil aspects.
 
1、Criminal aspect
（1）Rape
Article 236 of the Criminal Law regarding the crime of rape refers to a criminal act that violates the criminal law involving sexual intercourse.
 
（2）Forced indecency or insult crime
Article 237 of the Criminal Law concerning the crime of forcibly molesting or insulting women stipulates that "coercion" refers to mental compulsion against the female victim, such as threatening or intimidating her. For example, threats of killing the victim, exposing private matters, damaging reputation, harming relatives, or using authority, subordinate relationships, educational relationships, or the woman's isolated and helpless situation to coerce her, thereby making the female victim afraid to resist.
 
2、Civil aspects
（ 1 ） Physical contactNecessary contact or touching of another person's body, deliberately brushing against them, forcibly placing a hand or arm on their shoulder, deliberately staying close to someone, etc. Typical examples: on a bus, deliberately staying close to another person's body; on the street, deliberately approaching someone to create physical contact or collision, etc.
 
（ 2 ） Contact of speech: Unnecessarily and deliberately discussing topics related to sex, inquiring about someone's sexual privacy, making sexual comments about others' clothing, appearance, and body, and deliberately telling pornographic jokes, stories, etc. Typical examples: using a phone survey as an excuse to ask questions about sex; 'You are dressed very sexy today,' and so on.
 
（ 3 ） Nonverbal behavior: Intentionally whistling or making kissing sounds, body or hand movements with sexual undertones, ogling others with suggestive looks, displaying items related to sex, such as pornographic books, posters, etc. Typical examples: whistling or screaming at passing women, and similar behaviors.