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E-Commerce Giant Alibaba Fires Employee Who Accused Ex-Boss of Rape

A dismissal notice claimed the female worker had spread false information “which aroused strong concern from society and damaged the company.”

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has fired a woman who accused a former co-worker of sexual assault in July this year. A dismissal letter, first reported by the Chinese government-affiliated newspaper Dahe Daily, became effective on Nov. 25, the day it was given to the employee. She is identified in court papers only by her surname, Zhou. After the company failed to take action after she reported the assault, according to her, Zhou went public in August. She began passing out fliers to co-workers, unfurling banners in the company cafeteria, and posting messages on Alibaba’s internal website. The subsequent letter claimed she had spread false information “which aroused strong concern from society and damaged the company.”

The move to fire Zhou is a reversal of Alibaba’s initial support for her. After her allegations surfaced, the company fired the co-worker accused of assault, identified as Zhou’s former supervisor Wang Chengwen. Two senior managers also resigned for failing to act after Zhou made her report. But prosecutors dropped her case in September, after investigators found that Wang’s actions constituted “forcible indecency” but did not rise to the level of rape. Police gave him 15 days of administrative detention.