BEIJING – Recent weeks have seen social media flooded with outrage in China after reports of widespread online sexual abuse targeting women. At the centre is a Telegram channel named “MaskPark Treehole Forum.”
The group gathered more than 100,000 members, many of them Chinese men, to share non-consensual, sexually explicit photos and videos of women. The case exposed not only how vulnerable women are online in China but also the gaps in local laws, tight restrictions on feminist activity, and the everyday sexism that thrives on popular internet platforms.
First brought to public attention by Southern Metropolis Daily, MaskPark Treehole Forum ran on Telegram, an encrypted messaging app blocked in China but still reachable using VPNs. The forum and its 20 connected channels became a base for spreading intimate images, revenge porn, hidden-camera clips, and deepfakes.
Victims included strangers, acquaintances, colleagues, and even family members. Some posts featured personal information, which increased the risk of blackmail. According to numbers cited by Fengmian News from TGStat (which remain unconfirmed), posts attracted up to 35,000 views, with daily visits reaching 400,000.
Ms D, one of the victims, found pictures and videos leaked by an ex-boyfriend on MaskPark. Her story on social media quickly spread, getting over 40,000 likes and 20,000 shares, leading to the forum’s closure a day later.
Yet, researcher Li Ling warns that similar channels have already sprung up, many slipping through the cracks. The privacy offered by Telegram’s encryption and the lack of identity checks mean it is difficult to identify those sharing illegal content, making justice hard to achieve.
Many people see parallels to South Korea’s “Nth Room” case from 2020, which led not just to arrests but also to new laws against online sexual crimes. Activists in China are less hopeful, pointing to differences in how each country handles such problems.
One user on Weibo noted that, with MaskPark, there is no clear leader, just users participating for “pleasure” rather than money, making the abuse seem more acceptable and widespread.
Gaps in Law and Lacking Official Response
China’s courts still struggle with crimes that happen online. Laws on distributing obscene material can carry sentences of two years or more—longer if money changed hands—but activists say these rules are vague and often used to target female writers of erotic fiction instead of people sharing non-consensual photos and videos.
“It’s a double standard. Authorities go after writers while leaving hidden filming alone,” said well-known feminist Li Maizi, now in New York.
Victims often find it impossible to take legal action. Without details about offenders, filing a lawsuit is out of reach, and international cooperation is needed to track suspects using tools such as Telegram.
Lawyer Su Ruonan explained that because Telegram is based overseas, it is hard for Chinese police to get evidence. After its founder, Pavel Durov, was detained in France in 2024, Telegram said it would share user information with authorities who provided proper legal requests. Still, there has been no clear sign that Chinese officials are looking into MaskPark directly.
The government has remained quiet. Some state media, like Guangming Daily, have called for swift policy changes, but neither the Ministry of Public Security nor the Cyberspace Administration has given statements.
This silence comes as online discussions about MaskPark face tough censorship. Posts and hashtags like “China’s Nth Room” on platforms such as Weibo and RedNote disappear quickly; one user found her warning about hidden cameras removed after gaining tens of thousands of reactions.
Ongoing Suppression of Women’s Rights Groups
This scandal comes amid a wider crackdown on campaigns for women’s rights in China. President Xi Jinping’s administration has labelled independent activism a risk to public order, with activists for #MeToo and similar causes arrested or handed long sentences.
These tactics scare many into silence, blocking honest talks about abuse and leaving victims isolated. “Authorities care more about quieting anger than preventing abuse,” Li Maizi told The Guardian. Women writers of homoerotic fiction have been among those jailed, some serving up to five years.
This hostility encourages both nationalist trolls and sexist behaviour online. Social networks like Weibo are full of shaming and dismissive responses, with some users claiming the MaskPark scandal is an “overreaction.” A 28-year-old upskirting victim, called Lydia, described how police in her case blamed her rather than the perpetrator.
“It’s a problem with how boys are raised, not with me,” she said, pointing to a pattern of society failing to protect women.
MaskPark is not an isolated event, but part of a larger pattern. Secret filming and spying are now routine, as seen in the recent case of a Beijing tech worker caught with more than 10,000 filmed clips of female coworkers in the washrooms.
He only received ten days of detention. One comment on Weibo said such light punishment “encourages the crime.” Groups on Telegram even sell pinhole cameras openly, making it even harder for women to feel secure.
Abusers Go Unpunished
Sexist behaviour remains common on social media, where women are turned into targets or blamed for ending up as victims. Some MaskPark users joked about or advised acts of blackmail, fuelling a culture where abusers go unpunished.
Traditional ideas often treat issues like upskirting or domestic abuse as trivial or a private matter, leaving women with few ways to seek help. Victims and supporters are now calling for new laws to cover non-consensual sexual content and for tech platforms to do more to stop these crimes.
Professor Wang Pan, speaking with ABC News, said platforms should offer better ways to report illegal content and keep watch for hidden cameras. “Victims must keep speaking up,” she urged, stressing that public accounts play a key role in creating change.
Some women refuse to give in. Ms D’s decision to speak out inspired others with similar experiences, while activists like Zhou Ninghe keep making reports even when their success rate is low.
The MaskPark incident has put the spotlight on the safety of women online and offline. Without stronger laws and meaningful shifts in attitudes, the same stories will keep repeating.
Ms D gave a warning that echoes: “Any Chinese woman could be a potential victim.” These words show that solving online sexual abuse in China will require more than tools or new rules—it needs a new way of thinking that values and protects women’s voices.
