Six people have been arrested in association with a video of a couple having sex in the dressing room of a Beijing Uniqlo, including the couple in question. China’s Internet community widely circulated the video and took selfies outside the now infamous store.
As the LA Times reports:
According to Beijing TV, the police investigation is focused on two questions: first, who posted the video and second, whether the tape was a publicity stunt intended to drum up business. A brief police statement said one 19-year-old man surnamed Sun was charged with disseminating obscene material, while three others were being detained, along with the couple. Police indicated the video dated from April.
The Times also reports that Cyberspace Administration of China, who polices the web throughout the country, also reprimanded popular social media sites Sina and Tencent for failing to stop the video’s distribution, which even resulted in media attention outside of China.
The newspaper also provides context for the arrests. Like many other countries, China is wrestling with maintaining a “moral” society in the age of more liberal attitudes towards sex. Apparently, 71 percent of Chinese people reported having premarital sex in 2013, yet distributing pornographic material for profit can land you life in prison.
Chinese authorities have been quoted as saying that the video “violated core socialist values.” Even so, who deserves to be arrested for such a thing?
(Via LA Times)