BEIJING: About dozens of writers covering gay issues in China have been subjected to police crackdown, including imprisonment in the past year. Earlier this year, a famous transgender dancer and TV host Jin Xing experienced abrupt and unexplained cancellation of her shows by the local Chinese governments. These incidents reflect how the social stigma and discrimination against the LGBTQ community is growing despite the Chinese government’s claims of protection.
In the past few years, many ‘Pride Parades’ were cancelled by the Chinese authorities, thus wiping the little acceptance the LGBTQ community had gained over the years. Even social media accounts for LGBTQ groups were suspended. “Every year it becomes more and more challenging,” said one Chinese LGBTQ artist. Interestingly, China has the largest number of LGBTQ population. Yet, they remain largely invisible in society thanks to social stigma and discrimination.
The higher risk of being discriminated against often leads to non-disclosure of their stigmatised status, found research by a group of Chinese researchers. “Chinese LGBT individuals often deal with substantial pressure from their family, instead of receiving their support. In China, members of the LGBT community are discriminated against and marginalized by society. As a result, the majority of LGBT individuals tend to conceal their sexual minority identity in order to avoid being discriminated against,” reads the research led by Yuanyuan Wang of Hunan Medical Centre for Mental Health.
Chinese LGBTQ people face tremendous challenges and discrimination at their workplace since there is no law to protect them. “In 2019, Wu Wei, a gay civil servant in the Zhejiang province, attempted suicide after four painful years of being bullied at work for being gay. He’s not alone. Millions of Chinese LGBT+ people are discriminated against and bullied at their workplaces,” said All Out, a global movement for the rainbow community.
A survey carried out by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) revealed that the queer people in China were unfairly treated or discriminated against. “Family is the place where rejection and discrimination occur most frequently, followed by schools and the workplace. Discrimination continues to cost LGBTI people jobs, lower their career prospects and their learning potential in schools. Sexual and gender minorities suffer from lower job stability and higher unemployment rates,” it said.
There are reports that Jin Xing’s pro-LGBTQ stance led to the cancellation of her show, which she called an “abuse of power” by the government. “Please provide the real reason for the refusal and present an official document. Otherwise, stop abusing your power,” she said. “We all live under the same policies. Please respond, thank you!” However, there may not be any response as the Communist party-led Beijing government sees LGBTQ rights as an influence of Western values.
Notably, Chinese netizens expressed opposition to Xing’s support of the rainbow movement. A blogger with one million followers on Weibo justified the ban saying her shows polluted public morals. “Whether from the perspective of traditional Chinese ethical values or current laws and regulations, it neither supports nor promotes LGBT behaviour, which at best can be considered a violation of traditional morals, and at worst, against humanity,” the blogger said.
While China has decriminalised homosexuality, there has hardly been any legal support for the LGBTQ community which is often looked down upon and discriminated for who they were. A trans man named Cyan said he could never reveal who he was in China. “In mainland China you feel like a street rat. You can never tell anyone you’re transgender wherever you go. Both my parents and I agreed that my life as a trans person in China was going to be quite difficult,” he said. So he migrated to Canada. Chinese authorities have failed in ensuring justice to the queer community. Jie Cheng, an associate professor at the University of British Columbia, said the Chinese government’s approach was ‘fickle’ and was characterised by a ‘no approval, no disapproval, no promotion’ strategy. “Despite the decriminalization and depathologization of same-sex relations, the Chinese government falls short in protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals as fully as international human rights law requires,” Cheng said.
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