Chinese LGBT support group shuts down operations
- LGBT Rights Advocacy China has suspended its activities indefinitely and closed its social media account amid an ongoing tightening of social controls
- The group, which provided legal support in high-profile campaigns, says it looks forward to the ‘clouds dispersing’ one day
A Chinese LGBT advocacy group has suspended operations indefinitely and closed its social media accounts amid a nationwide tightening of social controls.
Its final message on WeChat, one of the country’s leading social media platforms, said: “We are grateful for all your companionship and support over the years. Please accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused.
“There may still be many uncertainties in the future, but we look forward to the day when the clouds have dispersed and we can see the blue sky again”.
The group stopped short of stating it was disbanding, though it did not offer a timeline for when operations would resume, or if its headquarters in the city of Guangzhou would remain open.
The group’s Facebook page remains accessible, although the platform has been banned in China, along with a posted link to its latest email newsletter from April this year.
Since its founding in 2016, LGBT Rights Advocacy China led several prominent campaigns, including one pushing for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2019, and for the census to recognise same-sex parternships the following year.
Last year, the organisation helped an LGBT activist identified only as Xixi, who at the time was a university student in Guangzhou, sue an academic publisher for describing homosexuality as a “psychological disorder” in a widely available textbook. The court ultimately ruled in the publisher’s favour.
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A state media report published the same year estimated that around 70 million Chinese people, about 5 per cent of the population, identify as LGBT.
China decriminalised homosexuality in 1997 and in 2001 the authorities removed it from an official list of mental disorders.
But over the past year, China’s LGBT population has found itself under increasing pressure as the authorities instigated sweeping crackdowns targeting the country’s entertainment, tech, education and business sectors.
The removal of the accounts, including those from groups at leading higher education institutions, including Renmin and Peking Universities, sparked concern among LGBT activists and groups.
These concerns intensified a month later, when Shanghai University asked its colleges to conduct surveys into students’ “state of mind” – a request that was viewed as a potential way to identify and document LGBT students.
In September, China’s top media regulator called for a boycott of what it called “sissy idols”, referring to pop idols who wear makeup or appear effeminate, followed soon afterwards by a ban on depictions of “gay love” and “effeminate men” in video games.
