China View: LGBTQIA+ Community Compromised By Beijing
ABC News australia
Despite recent progress in expanding the rights of LGBTQIA+ community, activism in China has dramatically declined. Major Chinese cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, and Chengdu once had thriving LGBTQIA+ communities and public attitudes also seemed to be improving. However, over the past decade it has become significantly tougher to track the effects of activism due to government-driven crack downs on civil society and freedom of expression.
While homosexuality was decriminalized in China in 1997, many individuals continue to experience discrimination based on sexual orientation. The government view their identity as a “Western ideology”, which sparked arguments against Western-style gay pride parades and other LGBTQIA+ related activities in China. Additionally, the government still offers no protection or recognition for LGBTQIA+ people. Those seeking gender reassignment surgery are also faced with increased obstacles and limited access to medical services.
In 1979, the government enacted the Hooligan Law, which identified same-sex sexual behavior, such as kissing in public, as illegal. The law was abolished in 1997, which was recognized by many as a turning point in public attitudes towards LGBTQIA+ people. The Fourth World Conference on Women that was held in Beijing in 1995 was also a watershed moment for feminism and LGBTQIA+ activism in China.
This event inspired local groups to establish and utilize nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to address issues experienced by their respective communities. The HIV/AIDS epidemic also bred the establishment of LGBTQIA+ organizations. However, despite this progress, the community remains highly affected by stigma, discrimination, and violence. Due to the threat of AIDS and the high prevalence of HIV infection among homosexual men, the public associated the virus with LGBTQIA+ people resulting in higher levels of stigma and discrimination. Did the government attempt to clear up these misconceptions about the virus?
Social norms and cultural values have contributed to this continued stigmatization. Many gay and lesbian individuals have been forced to conceal their sexual identities and marry heterosexual partners to fit social norms, maintain family reputations, and avoid moral distress. Although LGBTQIA+ people and same-sex relationships are increasingly accepted among younger generations, the tradition of having children is strongly entrenched in modern Chinese culture.
This tradition is heavily influenced by Confucian values, which promote “interaction and conduct, operated through personal behaviors, gender roles, sexual morality, and collectivism/familism”. Failure to get married and have children is widely considered dishonorable and shameful. There is also increased family pressure on individuals born during the period of the One-Child Policy.
There are now no official anti-LGBTQIA+ laws, yet there are also no legal protections for LGBTQIA+ people. Previously, however, the government classified non-heterosexual orientation as a “mental disorder”. This way of thought is still perpetuated by psychology textbooks and the use of "conversion therapy". Out of the 91 psychology textbooks used in Chinese universities in 2017, almost half of them said that homosexuality was a type of disease.
Many LGBTQIA+ people in China are also being forced to undergo "conversion therapy", which is an attempt to change a person's sexual orientation through various means such as hypnosis, drugs, acupuncture, and electric shock therapy. The therapy is often offered by centers not licensed to practice medicine, as well as by public hospitals. There are at least 96 centers and hospitals across China that offer the therapy and the government has not mentioned any plans to limit or ban them.
The government has also severely suppressed LGBTQIA+ activism. Feminist and LGBTQIA+ rights initiatives rarely receive domestic funding and are heavily dependent on international organizations for donations, which has drawn increasing government concerns. The government began to target activists and organizations because of this international funding and they believe that these movements were influenced by Western ideologies. Because of the government’s fear of ideological Westernization, they have labeled LGBTQIA+ activists in China as having ties with “foreign forces”.
Especially under the current regime, LGBTQIA+ individuals are facing heightened political challenges due to the patriotic ideological campaign initiated by President Xi Jinping, which emphasizes opposition to Western cultural erosion. This association with “the West” has made LGBTQIA+ NGOs the targets of state censorship, surveillance, and violence. Besides facing increased censorship and repression, LGBTQIA+ NGOs are also in danger of losing their primary sources of funding.
In 2017, the government implemented the Foreign NGO Management Law, which stipulates that foreign NGOs “must register with the Foreign NGO Management Office (FNGMO) and establish a representative office in China”, “must not endanger China’s national unity, security, or ethnic unity” and are “prohibited from engaging in or funding for-profit activities, political activities, or illegal religious activities”.
This view of foreign NGOs as potential threats to national security has raised concerns that foreign NGOs will face increasing obstacles operating in China due to these stricter controls, which will dissuade them from donating. Under the new law, LGBTQIA+ NGOs that continued to receive funding from overseas organizations that were not unregistered in China are also at risk.
In addition to these restrictions on civil society, other aspects relating to the LGBTQIA+ community have also been targeted. The government abolished a series of LGBTQIA+ public activities including the Shanghai LGBTQ Pride Day, which was permanently banned in 2020. In 2021, Peng Yanzi, the founder of LGBT Rights Advocacy China, was detained and released on condition that he close the organization. That year, dozens of social media accounts on WeChat, one of the most popular apps in China, associated with university campus LGBTQIA+ movements were also shut down.
In 2023, the Beijing LGBT Center, which provided a space for community discussion and mental health counseling, also closed. In that same year, Chinese officials prevented Taiwanese pop star A-Mei from singing "Rainbow”, a song viewed as a LGBTQIA+ anthem, from singing the song at a concert. Security guards also forced the concert attendees to remove clothing and other paraphernalia with the rainbows on them.
The Chinese government’s crackdown on the LGBTQIA+ community has also impacted Taiwan. In 2019, Taiwan became the first jurisdiction in the Asia region to legalize same-sex marriage. However, Taiwan governs most cross-strait marriages, between a resident of Taiwan and mainland China, under a distinct set of laws that require couples to marry in China before having the union certified in Taiwan. Couples are then subject to interviews to authenticate the marriage, and a screening process that ensures the Chinese spouse does not pose a security or intelligence threat. But with same-sex marriage still impossible in China, many couples cannot fulfil the first step of the process.
In response to the government’s increasing restrictions on civil society and organizations, LGBT activists and organizations are also experimenting with different strategies to ensure the survival of their groups. Several LGBTQIA+ groups have turned themselves into social work organizations focusing on adolescent and community issues, which enables them to apply for government funding and programs. The shift also aims to integrate concepts of gender diversity into the work that they do.
