China Shuts Down LGBTQ Online Community

Cartoon by @badiucao of Xi destroying the pride rainbow...

 

The space for LGBTQ groups in China is shrinking rapidly with now Tencent deleting the accounts of LGBTQ student groups on WeChat, claiming they had broken rules on information on the internet, making it harder for them to connect virtually.

Several LGBTQ groups were blocked from accessing their accounts on Tuesday and now they have found the accounts have been deleted.

Tencent shut down LGBTQ accounts in China

"They censored us without any warning. All of us have been wiped out," said the account manager of one group who asked not to be identified. 

When attempting to access some of the groups, a message says the group "had violated regulations on the management of accounts offering public information service on the Chinese internet", while others didn't show up in search results.

This latest development is part of a series of actions to shut down LGBTQ groups and events.

In past years Pride Month was celebrated openly in China in major cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

But last August China's biggest and longest-running LGBTQ festival, Shanghai Pride, was cancelled due to pressure from local authorities. This year even fewer events were held, some underground.

"Every year it becomes more and more challenging," one Chinese LGBTQ artist was quoted by CNN. "Events are fewer and advocates are finding it more and more difficult to raise acceptance."

Pride in Shanghai used to be openly celebrated

There were hopes that there would be greater acceptance of LGBTQ in society and the government after homosexuality was decriminalized in 1997 and in 2001 was removed from the official list of mental disorders.

However it looks like there is a crackdown from above to prevent the numbers of LGBTQ increasing since Beijing is desperate for more heterosexuals to get married and have three children. That can't happen if there's a growing LGBTQ population.

With it now being increasingly a taboo subject, it will be harder for those who have just accepted their sexuality or to find a community to reach out to for advice and support.

Hong Kong Landmark Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage

There is a strong gay community in Hong Kong, along with its supporters

Breaking News -- A married gay civil servant is now entitled to the same spousal benefits as a heterosexual couple in Hong Kong.

The landmark ruling came down today which could have a massive ripple effect in all sectors, as for a long time the government refused to acknowledge benefits in same-sex marriages.

The High Court refused the Civil Service Bureau's argument that it was denying benefits for same-sex spouses to protect "the integrity of the institution of marriage".

In 2014, senior immigration officer Leung Chun-kwong married his partner Scott Adams in New Zealand. But when Leung tried to change his marital status to be eligible for spousal benefits back in Hong Kong, he was refused, and so he launched a lawsuit against the secretary for the civil service and the commissioner of the Inland Revenue Department.

The High Court ruled a gay couple is entitled to benefits

While the court ruled in favour with Leung with regards to the CSB, he lost his case with the Revenue Department.

In his 44-page judgment, Mr Justice Anderson Chow Ka-ming called the bureau's policy "indirect discrimination" and rejected its assertion that the secretary had a justifiable aim "to act in line with the prevailing marriage law of Hong Kong" and not to "undermine the integrity of the institution of marriage... hence safeguarding public order".

Chow wrote: "I am unable to see how denial of 'spousal' benefits to homosexual couples... legally married under foreign laws could or would serve the purpose of not undermining the integrity of the institution of marriage in Hong Kong, or protecting the institution of the traditional family."

Leung said the court's decision had wide-ranging implications. "The government is the biggest employer. The whole of Hong Kong will follow [this decision]."

He urged the government to review its policies and update them instead of wait for legal challenges, a process, he said was stressful, expensive and time consuming.

Rainbow-coloured lions have conservatives very worried!

"We were not asking for special treatment. We simply wanted to be treated fairly and with dignity," he said, adding that the court had "recognized and rectified a fundamental unfairness".

The bureau says it is reviewing the decision with the Justice Department, while the Equal Opportunities Commission urges the government to review its policies and extend equal rights to sexual minorities.

However, when it came to the Inland Revenue Department, Leung was unable to change his marital status to same-sex marriage because a provision in the Inland Revenue Ordinance states clearly that a marriage is between a man and a woman.

Nevertheless, we finally a decision that drags Hong Kong into the 21st century. The city is a fiscally liberal one, and so should its society. Christian conservatives are going to be terrified by this ruling -- they can't even stand having rainbow-coloured replica lions at HSBC in Central.

But this is the reality -- there are same-sex couples in Hong Kong and they deserve to be treated equally under the law. And now they do legally.

Case closed? We hope so.

China Fight to Legalize Gay Marriage

With growing acceptance of the LGBT community in China, is marriage next?

The right for homosexuals to marry will be challenged legally after a court in Changsha, Hunan province agreed to hear the case.

Sun Wenlin, 26, filed a suit against the civil affairs bureau to allow him to marry his 36-year-old partner so that they could have a family.

"I think from a legal point of view, we should be successful," Sun said. "Our marriage law says there is freedom to marry and gender equality. These words can be applied to same-sex marriage."

He said he tried to marry his partner back in June at Furong district civil affairs bureau but they were rejected, as the official said marriage had to be between a man and a woman.

Activists say that because the court accepted the case, this is a positive sign that China is willing to address inequality in the LGBT community.

Up until 2001, China regarded homosexuality as a mental disorder, but even today many gay men are quiet about their sexual orientation.

Nevertheless, it will be interesting to see what happens in this case. Either way it's definitely a step forward for gays in China to be heard in the courts.

Quote of the Day: Hong Kong's Catholic Church on Gays

Bishop John Tong Hon claims gays are like drug addicts

Pope Francis has been hinting he is more open to homosexuals in general. But the Bishop in Hong Kong is dead fast against anyone who is gay.

Cardinal John Tong Hon has suggested to his flock of 379,000 Catholics here that when they vote on November 22, they should keep in mind candidates' views on gay rights.

Tong wrote a pastoral letter on November 5, lamenting that the city's core values on marriage and family "are continually being challenged and misinterpreted" by sexual liberation and gay rights movements.

Speaking in defense of Tong, Auxiliary Bishop Michael Yeung Ming-cheung equated homosexuals with drug addicts.

"The church doesn't have any enemy and it wouldn't criticize anyone. It was only talking about a wrongdoing. For example, it was wrong to take drugs and we would say no, but we still love drug addicts."

He added Tong was not suggesting who the pastoral flock should vote for, but that it is their responsibility to vote.

Uh huh. And saying that voters should keep in mind which ones are for or against gay rights isn't really instructing them when they cast their ballot, then what is the church saying then?

Why are they politicizing the gay rights issue?

And where do they get the idea that gays are like drug addicts? Where does it say that in the Bible?

Homophobic rants don't help unite the community but instead divide them further. And is that what the church wants people to do?

Can someone please tell Tong we're in 2015...