Chinese MMA athlete faces online backlash for reporting harassment to police and failing to respond

An MMA athlete turned to Shanghai police after a man attempted to sexually harass her on her way home, but many mainland netizens criticized her for not physically confronting the attacker.

According to Dute News, Ms. Xu was walking in Jing'an District on the morning of September 3 when a 23-year-old man surnamed Zhou began following her.

When he asked her for her contact information, he suddenly wrapped his arms around her neck and tried to kiss her. Xu managed to free herself, but fell to the ground and noticed that Zhou was holding a knife. Xu immediately called the police.

Shanghai police later confirmed on Weibo that Zhou had been arrested for “violent harassment” of a woman. Under Chinese law, such an offense can result in a prison sentence of up to five years.

Xu said she was afraid that if she resisted she would seriously hurt Zhou.