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/ Source: Reuters
BEIJING – The 10-year sentence handed down by a Chinese court against an author of a homoerotic book convicted of taking advantage of the sale of literature "obscene" has aroused the disbelief of some netizens who questioned that a crime could justify such a severe sentence.
The female author, nicknamed Liu, was convicted on October 31 by the Wuhu County Court in Anhui Province (East), after publishing a book describing "obscene and detailed homosexual acts". according to the official media.
The court ruled that the strict sentence had been applied because it had earned 150,000 yuan ($ 21,600) by selling more than 7,000 copies, the article said.
The case turned to Chinese social media last weekend, as commentators wondered how such a punishment could make sense when some cases of sexual assault often resulted in lighter sentences.
A user shared an article on a 2010 case where a man had been sentenced to 18 months in jail for imprisoning children and said: "I do not understand the law, but there are people who have do things as inhuman as that and have only one and a half.
"Why does our vast and abundant China tolerate the word" sex "?" the user added.
Some commentators have suggested that Liu's book is not forbidden because gay erotic content known as "bl" or "BoysLove" is important for Chinese men who want to discover their sexuality.
"I'm also looking 'bl', because my family has traditional values," wrote a user about the case. "Seeing this news today and on the basis of this type of criminal law, I think we will have to wait thousands of years for homosexuality to be legalized.
Pornography has long been illegal in China, but in recent years the Communist Party has intensified its efforts to eliminate what it saw as inappropriate content, introducing new legislation, rewards and sanctions to achieve its goals.
Authorities on Saturday launched a campaign to "eradicate pornography and illegal publications" by offering increased rewards of up to 600,000 yuan for reporting banned content to the police, starting in December.
In April, Weibo announced its decision to remove pornographic, violent or gay content by selecting manga animations often illustrating hot relationships between gay men, before returning to its decision after much criticism.
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