"Doxxing" — Phrase of the Week
Teenage daughter of Baidu exec accused of online attacks
Our phrase of the week is: "doxxing" (开盒 kāihé)
Context
A cyberbullying scandal has erupted in China in recent weeks. It began when a number of people have had their personal information leaked online.
The social media user who goes by the handle of "Your eyes are the smallest lake in the world" (妳的眼眸是世界上最小的湖泊) is accused of inciting the attacks, aimed at members of a fan group of K-pop singer, Jang Won-young (张元英).
One of the victims, a pregnant woman who found her private details exposed in the fan group, was harassed by thousands of other fans—including receiving messages cursing her unborn child.
The attacker is a girl just thirteen years old, and the daughter of a high-powered executive at search engine giant, Baidu, the company’s senior vice president, Xiè Guǎngjūn (谢广军).
The story caused a stir on Weibo following this revelation, with many questioning whether her access to sensitive data was linked to her father’s role at Baidu.
Xie issued a public apology, saying he regretted not teaching his daughter to respect privacy.
Baidu denied any company involvement, and suggested the teenager must have accessed the data from "darknet databases" (社工库).
For a tech-savvy teenager in China, this is a surprisingly easy thing to do. According to The Economist, there’s a thriving black market for personal data in China.
This was not the first time Mr Xie’s daughter has leaked someone’s personal data online:
According to media reports, multiple netizens have said a Weibo user has repeatedly "doxxed" ordinary individuals in fan groups since 2024.
媒体报道如下：多名网友发帖称，一名微博网友自2024年以来，多次在饭圈“开盒”素人。
Méitǐ bàodào rúxià: duō míng wǎngyǒu fātiě chēng, yì míng Wēibó wǎngyǒu zì 2024 nián yǐlái, duōcì zài fànquān “kāihé” sùrén.
And with that, we have our Sinica Phrase of the Week!
What it means
The word "doxxed" is a relatively new term in English. It’s a form of cyberbullying which involves the release of sensitive or personal information online.
The word “doxxing” (also spelled "doxing") is derived from the term, “dropping documents", or “dropping dox.”
It first gained popularity outside of China in the 1990s when hackers began "dropping dox" on other hackers who had been hiding behind fake names—as a way to expose other competing hackers. Removing their anonymity left them exposed to authorities and others trying to track them down.
“Doxxing” gained mainstream attention in the 2000s with cases involving activist hacker groups like Anonymous, known for its high-profile attacks targeting organizations they perceived as unethical or oppressive.
In Chinese, the equivalent phrase is translated as "open box" (开盒 kāihé), which could also be translated as "open boxing" someone. It’s also known as "open boxing and hanging people" (开盒挂人 kāihé guàrén).
An earlier form of doxxing in China is called “human flesh search" (人肉搜索 rénròu sōusuǒ), which refers to crowdsourcing personal (but publicly available) information online and then publishing it, as a way to shame or punish someone.
This became prominent in China in the mid-2000s, especially on forums like Tianya and Baidu Tieba. Unlike Western doxxing, which was initially more about exposing unethical behavior, Chinese doxxing often had a strong element of moral outrage and collective punishment.
Over time, doxxing in China has evolved into more malicious behaviour where personal data is bought and used to target individuals. It’s become particularly common within “fan circles” (饭圈)—online groups of fans who follow a certain celebrity.
So while doxxing first emerged internationally, in China it’s evolved into something different, and is closely tied to its social media culture—and later, to the toxic side of fan culture.
In this underground world, obsessive fans trade personal data and seek revenge on anyone who criticizes their idols online—which is likely what happened in this latest doxxing scandal.
Andrew Methven is the author of RealTime Mandarin, a resource which helps you bridge the gap to real-world fluency in Mandarin, stay informed about China, and communicate with confidence—all through weekly immersion in real news. Subscribe for free here.
Read more about how this story is being discussed in the Chinese media in this week’s RealTime Mandarin.
