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A Chinese girl adds her signature to a banner in support of same-sex marriage in Beijing on March 23. As the Beijing Olympics draw near, gay groups in China are ramping up their activist work in hopes of attracting international attention to their cause. (Photo by Andy Wong/AP)
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HOME > NEWS > WORLD NEWS
By: CHRIS JOHNSON COMMENTS
 
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either.”
Richardson said the gay community in China is still “a fairly marginalized community.”
“I think it’s fair to say that there is still quite a bit of stigma attached to being gay,” she said.
Richardson said gays in China enjoy a degree of safety if they live in urban areas where there are established gay communities, but there are exceptions.
“When the authorities decide they don’t like some group or some kind of activity, there’s no hesitation about cracking down on it,” she said.
Laws prohibiting same-sex sexual activity in China were taken off the books in 1997. China’s medical community eliminated homosexuality as a mental disease in 2001.
The State Department’s annual report on human rights violations, released March 11, includes information on hostility toward gays overseas and states that “societal discrimination and strong pressure to conform to family expectations” in China deters gays from publicly discussing their sexual orientation.
A close-up shot of the petition banner gay activists have put on display in Beijing. (Photo courtesy of Common Language) |
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“Published reports state that more than 80 percent of gay men married because of societal pressure,” the report states.
Xu said Christian forces that condemn homosexuality in the United States have little influence in China because Christianity has not taken root there. She said some people are uncomfortable with homosexuality because they adhere to “traditional values.”
While Xu and her group work toward greater acceptance for gays in China, there is also evidence that Beijing police are becoming hostile toward the community.
An e-mail distributed by the Center for Gay and Lesbian Studies’ International Resource Network at the City University of New York details various incidents of Beijing police harassing the gay community.
Among the findings:
- In January, police visited the residence of a gay activist and asked about her residence permit and her job. They also asked for a picture.
- On March 21, the day before there was a news announcement about the petition signature exhibition, police went to the home of a gay activist and asked about her job and a gay web site.
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