Negotiating Feminist Solidarity Amid Digital Nationalism: Analyzing Chinese Debate to the 2024 South Korean Deepfake Sex Crime

In August 2024, several South Korean women reported on the Chinese social media platform Weibo that they had been subjected to sexual violence through AI deepfake technology, sparking widespread debate. This paper explores the transnational feminist discourse between South Korea and China, with a specific focus on the responses to the deepfake scandal on Weibo. Through critical discourse analysis of highly engaged Weibo discussions, we examine how Chinese feminists interact with South Korean feminist narratives under China’s authoritarian digital landscape. We explore how Chinese feminism navigates gender resistance under authoritarian rule and examine the unique characteristics and value of such transnational feminist activism. By identifying the tensions between nationalist misogyny and cross-border feminist solidarity, this study highlights the paradoxical space within which Chinese feminists operate, balancing state repression, online censorship, and the influence of external feminist ideologies.