The Wuhan University Sexual Harassment Allegation and First-Instance Verdict
2025年7月25日，武汉市经开区法院的一场民事案件宣判在中国互联网上引起轩然大波，连续几天在微博、小红书和抖音等社交媒体总共获得高达六亿的浏览量。武汉大学作为中国排名前十的知名大学，陷入空前的舆论漩涡，一时间“武大”和“诬告”成为在各大评论区绑定出现的“固定搭配”。
2023年7月，一名在经管院读本科的女生杨景媛在图书馆发现桌子对面的男生持续进行掏裆动作，疑似抚慰生殖器，认为自己受到了性骚扰。这名男生是当时就读于外国语言文学学院的本科生肖明韬。杨景媛用视频记录肖明韬的动作，当场与肖对峙，令肖手写道歉信。次日，杨景媛联系外国语言文学学院的本科生辅导员刘迪，要求取消肖明韬的评奖评优及保研资格，令肖明韬在其父母的见证下道歉，保持自己的匿名状态。10月11日，杨景媛在个人公众号上曝光肖明韬的行为，推动该事件登上微博热搜榜，在互联网引起广泛关注。杨景媛曝光当晚，肖明韬前往派出所保安，称自己的掏裆行为是因湿疹挠痒，性骚扰指控系诽谤，此前手写道歉信只为息事宁人。10月13日，武汉大学公开对肖明韬进行处分，但原因不是他的行为属于性骚扰，而是他在图书馆这一公共场所做出“不当行为”。
2024年2月，肖明韬母亲通过南方都市报公开发声称肖明韬的行为确为抓痒，并称已就肖明韬所遭受的网络暴力提起诉讼。南方都市报同时联系杨景媛，而她拒绝向媒体透露消息，私下联系武汉大学报备媒体来电，得到校方希望其保持沉默的回应。同年7月，杨景媛向武汉市经开区法院提起对肖明韬的民事诉讼，指控肖明韬对其进行性骚扰，并将武汉大学作为共同被告。法院的两次开庭审理未向社会公开。
2025年7月，法院宣布一审判决结果，驳回原告杨景媛的所有诉讼请求。此时，杨景媛已经成功推免至武汉大学法学院修读硕士学位，于2025年6月顺利毕业，即将赴香港浸会大学修读法学博士；肖明韬本科尚未毕业，已经因学校的处分丧失研究生推免资格。法院判决书认可肖明韬患有湿疹的证明，强调了肖明韬及其家人在这场风波中蒙受的损失，特别提到肖明韬的爷爷对情绪受该事件冲击，于半年后去世。判决书登上热搜头条，在中国社交媒体平台获得超过五亿浏览量。判决书中肖明韬在事件发生后保研资格的丧失、亲人的离世、个人隐私的泄漏引发公众的广泛同情，而杨景媛和武汉大学则受到猛烈抨击。一时间，社交媒体的评论区中只要说“杨景媛”便提到“诬陷”，只要说“武汉大学”便提到“诬汉大学”。然而，在高校学生内部，讨论逐渐变调。
武汉大学一部分男生不满杨景媛破坏学校的名誉，而一部分女生对判决结果表示质疑，双方在学生群聊中爆发持续至少半日的激烈争吵。在本案之外，杨景媛和肖明韬的“黑历史”在学生群体内部流传开来。尤为瞩目的是杨景媛的硕士毕业论文问题，因为学生和网友在她的论文中发现数处引用不当问题。此外据悉，肖明韬高中就读于武汉外国语高中，曾有进入女厕所被发现的先例，后被解释为“捡笔”了解，因此并未影响肖明韬获得外语保送资格，进入武汉大学外国语言文学学院（以下简称“外院”）读书。另外，笔者在初入武汉大学外院时，曾听到学姐学哥提到肖明韬在校内开豪车引起大规模堵车的传言；那时杨景媛和肖明韬在图书馆的冲突已经发生，但据说肖明韬表面上看并不如判决书描述的一般抑郁到无法正常学习生活，反而在课堂活跃发言，并成功赴美国杜克大学交换。这一系列事件虽然和本案判决没有直接关系，但不禁让人对肖明韬的行事作风产生疑问。笔者在初入武汉大学时，曾听到学姐学哥提到肖明韬在
武汉大学校外同样不乏高校学生质疑。C同学,一名其他985大学的法学生，在看到判决时认为这是防止滥用性骚扰指控的绝佳案例，对法庭的判决表示赞许。但当他回想起自己在武汉读高中时得知的肖明韬“捡笔”事件，发觉肖明韬的行为或许不足以用湿疹解释。C同学随后转变了态度。他认为，舆论是“将判决书（错误地）神圣化了”，这原本这是一个性骚扰举证不足的案件，仅此而已。他提到自己在校园论坛上将本案件和强奸案中的受害者举证责任过重问题做了对比，结果“被骂”，而且“不知道为啥被骂”。至于杨景媛举证不足导致诉求被驳回的因素，C同学提到了肖明韬的母亲是专业律师，隐晦地提到对方“很容易”找五个专家证人证明湿疹的真实性。关于肖明韬爷爷的去世，一名北京大学医学院校友认为几乎不可能由这一事件直接导致，因为肖明韬爷爷因突发疾病离世的时间已是事情发生的半年之后。
高校学生的大部分疑问没有传出微信群和校园论坛，而与此同时，网络舆论发展为对杨景媛和武汉大学的讨伐。由于杨景媛的毕业论文存在争议，武汉大学的学术水平也遭到强烈质疑。有记者就此事致电武汉大学校长，提及是否撤销肖明韬的处分、如何处理杨景媛的论文乃至毕业资格等问题，得到“等上级安排”的回复。这一回复再次引爆舆论对校领导消极应对的态度的不满。同年9月，武汉大学研究生开学典礼座位的白色椅背和红色圆形指引标签被解读为日本国旗，致使武汉大学再次受到抨击，获得“汉奸大学”的外号。9月18日，武汉大学在压力下发布通告公布事件处理结果，决定撤销肖明韬的处分，保留杨景媛的毕业资格，对外院的领导班子进行调整，处分或警告部分外院教职工，期中包括肖明韬的前辅导员。
武汉大学的学生在9月开学后，明显感觉到了氛围的变化。武汉大学本科生Z同学表示，他感觉校园变得更加冷清，舆论环境更为紧绷，女权成了敏感话题。笔者了解到，原定于九月底在武汉大学振华楼演出的话剧《铁界》——一部描述一位美国移民女性“抗争”的话剧——因为不可抗力无限期推迟。
武汉大学的师生并未完全噤声。据悉，杨景媛本科期间就读于武汉大学经济与管理学院（以下简称“经管院”）。在武汉大学发布通告之后的第一节课，该院领导进入一门专业课的课堂，对学生说明了一些情况，其中主要对杨景媛在本科期间的刻苦努力做出高度评价。领导离去后，这门专业课的任课老师在白板上写下了一句话：“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
（以上是未翻译版本）
On July 25, 2025, a civil case ruling from the Wuhan Economic & Technological Development Zone Court caused a massive uproar on the Chinese internet, amassing over 600 million views across Weibo, Xiaohongshu, TikTok (Douyin), and other social media platforms within just a few days. Wuhan University, one of China’s top ten universities, was swept into an unprecedented wave of public opinion. Overnight, “Wuhan University” and “false accusation” became inseparable “fixed pairings” appearing together across comment sections.
In July 2023, Yang Jingyuan, an undergraduate student in the School of Economics and Management, discovered that a male student sitting across from her in the library repeatedly touched his crotch, seemingly stimulating his genitals. Believing she was being sexually harassed, she recorded a video of the male student, Xiao Mingtao, then an undergraduate in the School of Foreign Languages and Literature. Yang confronted Xiao on the spot and compelled him to handwrite an apology. The following day, Yang contacted the counselor for undergraduates in the School of Foreign Languages and asked to revoke Xiao’s eligibility for awards, honors, and postgraduate recommendation, requesting that Xiao apologize again in front of his parents while maintaining her anonymity. On October 11, Yang published the incident on her personal WeChat public account, pushing the case onto the Weibo trending list and drawing widespread attention.
That same night, Xiao went to the police and reported that his crotch-touching was due to eczema and itching, claiming the sexual harassment accusation was defamation and that his handwritten apology had been merely an attempt to “keep the peace.” On October 13, Wuhan University publicly disciplined Xiao—not for sexual harassment, but for “inappropriate behavior” in a public space (the library).
In February 2024, Xiao’s mother spoke publicly through Southern Metropolis Daily, insisting that Xiao had merely been scratching an itch due to eczema, and announcing that they had filed a lawsuit regarding the online harassment Xiao faced. The newspaper contacted Yang, but she declined to comment and privately reported the media inquiry to Wuhan University—receiving a response encouraging her to remain silent.
In July of the same year, Yang filed a civil lawsuit against Xiao and named Wuhan University as a joint defendant. The two court hearings were not open to the public.
In July 2025, the court announced its first-instance ruling, rejecting all of Yang’s claims. By then, Yang had already secured a postgraduate recommendation to Wuhan University’s Law School, completed her master’s degree in June 2025, and was preparing to pursue a Ph.D. in law at Hong Kong Baptist University. Xiao, still an undergraduate, had lost his postgraduate recommendation due to the university’s earlier disciplinary action.
The court accepted Xiao’s medical proof of eczema and emphasized the harm suffered by Xiao and his family during the ordeal—particularly noting that Xiao’s grandfather, emotionally affected by the incident, passed away six months later.
The ruling went viral, ranking #1 on trending searches and accumulating over 500 million views on social media. The loss of Xiao’s postgraduate recommendation, his grandfather’s death, and the exposure of his personal privacy generated widespread public sympathy for him, while Yang and Wuhan University were heavily condemned. On social media, mentioning “Yang Jingyuan” inevitably brought up “false accusation,” and mentioning “Wuhan University” brought up “Wuhan (slanderer) University.” But inside the student body, discussions began shifting tone.
Some male students at Wuhan University resented Yang for damaging the school’s reputation; some female students questioned the verdict. Intense arguments erupted in student group chats, lasting at least half a day. Beyond the case itself, both Yang’s and Xiao’s “dark histories” began circulating among students. Particularly notable was Yang’s master’s thesis, in which students and netizens found multiple citation irregularities. Meanwhile, it was said that Xiao—who attended Wuhan Foreign Language High School—previously entered a women’s restroom but explained it as retrieving a dropped pen; the explanation prevented the incident from affecting his guaranteed admission into Wuhan University’s foreign language program.
The author also recalls hearing rumors during early days at Wuhan University that Xiao once caused a massive traffic jam by driving a luxury car on campus; at that time, the library conflict with Yang had already happened, yet Xiao did not appear depressed or dysfunctional as described in the verdict. Instead, he actively participated in class and even studied abroad at Duke University.
Though these incidents were unrelated to the legal ruling, they raised doubts about Xiao’s character.
Outside Wuhan University, students from other top institutions expressed concerns as well. C, a law student at another elite university, initially saw the case as a strong example against misuse of sexual harassment accusations and praised the ruling. But upon recalling Xiao’s earlier “dropped pen” restroom incident from his high school days in Wuhan, he reconsidered whether eczema fully explained Xiao’s behavior. He concluded that public opinion had “wrongly sanctified the verdict,” arguing the case was simply one of insufficient evidence for harassment—nothing more.
He also noted that Xiao’s mother was a professional lawyer, subtly implying that it would be “easy” for her to find five expert witnesses to testify to the authenticity of the eczema diagnosis.
Regarding the grandfather’s death, a Peking University medical school graduate expressed doubt that the case could directly cause it, especially given the time gap of six months and the sudden onset of illness.
Most student skepticism remained confined within WeChat groups and campus forums, while the wider internet turned into a wave of condemnation against Yang and Wuhan University. Yang’s thesis controversy soon led to widespread questioning of the university’s academic standards. A journalist called the university president asking whether Xiao’s disciplinary record would be revoked, how Yang’s thesis and graduation status would be handled, and received only: “We’ll wait for direction from higher authorities.”
This response triggered another wave of outrage accusing the university of inaction.
In September, Wuhan University again faced backlash when the white chair backs and red circular labels at the graduate orientation ceremony were interpreted as resembling the Japanese flag, prompting netizens to dub the school “Traitor University.”On September 18, under mounting pressure, Wuhan University released an official notice detailing its decisions: Xiao’s disciplinary record would be annulled, Yang’s degree would be retained, the leadership team of the School of Foreign Languages would be reshuffled and that several faculty members, including Xiao’s former counselor, would be disciplined or warned
After the semester began, students felt a clear shift in campus atmosphere. Z, an undergraduate, said the campus had grown noticeably quieter; public discourse felt far more tense, and feminism had become a sensitive topic. The author learned that a planned late-September performance of the play Ironbound—about the “struggles” of an American immigrant woman—was postponed indefinitely due to “unforeseen circumstances.”
But not all voices at Wuhan University were silenced. Yang completed her undergraduate degree in the School of Economics and Management. After the university’s September notice, administrators from that school entered the first class of a required major course to “clarify some matters,” emphasizing Yang’s diligence and hard work during her undergraduate years.
After they left, the course instructor wrote on the whiteboard:
“What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”
(Above is the translated and modified version)
Written by: Xihe Zheng
