Female athlete who posted a video of her 'hot' body on social media was 'questioned' by the police

Lara Zhang, a Chinese-Australian professional bodybuilder, posted a short video on her official Weibo account, in which she wore a “hot” bikini and performed movements to show off her muscular body.

The clip was posted by Zhang in July 2018, but recently, the cyber police of Maoming City (Guangdong Province, China) discovered this clip on her Weibo account and warned Zhang about the legal consequences of posting pornographic content on social networks in China.

“According to national security laws and regulations on cyber security, publishing and spreading obscene and pornographic content on the Internet is illegal. Such behavior is subject to investigation by public security organs and will be punished according to applicable laws,” the Weibo account of Maoming City’s cyber police warned in a comment on the clip shared by Zhang on his personal Weibo page.

However, Zhang quickly responded to the police warning and said that she is a bodybuilder, a sport she has pursued for a long time, and the actions in the clip are completely normal and not pornographic.

“Please show me the results of your investigation and official documents when you are ready, I will fight for my rights,” Lara Zhang commented in Chinese in response to the warning from the internet police. Zhang asserted that her actions in the clip were those of a female bodybuilder posing to show off her body on stage in bodybuilding competitions, and bikinis are mandatory for these competitions.

Zhang then went on to post another Weibo post to clarify his stance: “I don’t care how ordinary people see me because everyone has a different view of beauty. But why do the police have such a narrow-minded and ignorant view? I have the right to defend my legitimate rights.”

Zhang's post quickly went viral and attracted a large number of comments and shares.

According to the newspaperGlobal TimesAfter Zhang's second post on Weibo, Maoming City's cyber police sent her a private message to apologize for her warning comment on Weibo.

Lara Zhang has been a professional bodybuilder since 2006 and has participated in many competitions organized by the International Federation of Gymnastics and Fitness. She was the runner-up at the 2017 Australian Open bodybuilding competition.

In China, the Internet is strictly controlled and there is a cyber police force that, in addition to tracking down cyber criminals, is responsible for censoring sensitive, obscene and immoral content online. China's cyber security laws also stipulate strict penalties for those who post obscene and pornographic content online.

T. Thuy