
The story of a Chinese man, known as "Uncle Red," who disguised himself as a woman to secretly film and share videos of his encounters with more than 1,000 men has shocked China's social media. His videos have sparked fears about public health, privacy and marital fidelity.
According to Reuters , the hashtag "red uncle" was the most trending item on the popular Chinese microblog "Weibo", scoring at least 200 million.
The posts showed how the man, born in the eastern city of Nanjing, lured 1,691 heterosexual men into sexual encounters at his home, which he then recorded and shared online. The man, surnamed Jiao, was detained on Sunday on suspicion of distributing indecent material. But police said Jiao was 38 years old, not 60, as claimed in social media posts. They also denied that he had had intimate encounters with more than 1,000 men, but did not give an exact figure.
Same-sex relationships are not illegal in China, but the dissemination of images of sexual acts is punishable by law.
Taking photos of sexual activity in a private setting and sharing them also violates privacy rights and can be considered a criminal offense. Social media users also circulated a photo montage of nearly 100 men who allegedly met with the "red uncle," urging women to check whether the photos were of their fiancés or husbands. Many social media users expressed concerns about the risk of sexually transmitted diseases. A city health official told Jimu News that the state is ready to take appropriate measures.