The recent exposure of a serial drugging and rape network involving Chinese students in Germany shocked many people. But the most disturbing part is that this culture did not suddenly appear overseas. It was cultivated long before these men boarded a plane.

For years, similar cases in China have often been brushed aside with excuses like “girls should be more careful,” “don’t trust strangers,” or “bad judgment.” Public discussion repeatedly shifts responsibility from perpetrators to victims. Over time, predators learn that consequences are limited and blame can always be redirected.

There is an old saying: if you see one cockroach on the table, there are many more underneath. This scandal feels like the moment when the infestation became so severe that the cockroaches started crawling into the neighbors’ house.

What makes this even more revealing is the silence of many mainstream Chinese media outlets. These are often the same outlets that claim deep concern for social issues abroad, yet when faced with organized sexual violence committed by Chinese nationals, many suddenly had nothing to say.

That silence is not neutral.

Even worse were the online comments blaming victims, including phrases like “good advice cannot save those determined to die.” Such reactions expose how deeply victim blaming has become normalized.

The Germany case is not just about a few criminals overseas. It is about what happens when misogyny, victim blaming, and institutional indifference are tolerated for too long.

Germany merely became the crime scene. The conditions that produced it were already there.