Authors of Gay-Themed Erotica Face Arrest in China

metroweekly.com:

South China Morning Post, many of those arrested had been posting stories on the Taiwanese-based fiction website Haitang Culture.

They have been charged with producing, selling, or disseminating pornographic materials.Users of the website can make money from tips or subscriptions from fans, with one of the most popular genres being danmei — a style focusing on gay romance and sex, which originated in Japanese manga and has become popular in China.While officers in Anhui province have been carrying out the crackdown, they have reportedly been investigating and detaining people from other provinces, leading some to question whether the police are abusing their power.Earlier this month, the news outlet Shuiping Jiyuan reported that police in Anhui have detained more than 50 writers — primarily women in their 20s — from across China since June.

Thus far, the harshest sentence handed down was four-and-a-half years in prison.Under Chinese law, writers who make more than 250,000 yuan ($34,500) from selling erotic materials can potentially face a life sentence in prison, although in practice, they can obtain lower sentences if they agree to cooperate with investigators and pay back the money.In a social media post from October, one woman said her sister, who had been posting stories for almost 10 years under the pen name “Yunjian,” went missing in June.

The woman asked readers if they could donate money to pay off a fine and reduce her sister’s prison sentence.Two months later, a man claiming to be Yunjian’s husband said his wife had been sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison and thanked readers for supporting her.“She said, ‘I will work hard in prison and try to get out earlier.