China’s new domestic violence does not apply to gay couples and recently Chinese censors have been cracking down on “immoral content,” including depictions of homosexuality in the media.
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Sun, Hu and their lawyer entered the Furong District courthouse amid cheers from roughly 300 supporters, some of whom had waited outside since 5 a.m. or traveled overnight from neighboring provinces.
The same-sex marriage case is just the latest in an increasingly vocal tide advocating for equal rights for China’s sexual minorities.
LGBT people are estimated to account for over 4% of China’s population, according to Li Yinhe, a leading sexologist in China.
After a few short hours on Wednesday morning, a judge ruled against a gay couples right to marry.. While homosexuality is not illegal in China, and large cities have thriving gay scenes, samesex marriage is not legal, and same-sex couples have no legal protections.
Mr Sun said he would appeal until he exhausted all legal avenues.
The case, which attracted hundreds of LGBT supports to the courthouse on Wednesday, is the country’s first same-sex marriage case.
Ying Xin, the director of the Beijing LGBT Center, said there was a sharp uptick in awareness of gay issues compared to 2009, when the group started doing street performance art in Beijing.
Speaking to The Guardian after the hearing, Mr Sun vowed to appeal the court’s ruling. “But young people are the most passionate”.
“Now, as the first person to do this in China, I feel it is not just my own business anymore. This will hopefully direct them to become more involved with the right training”.
“There was only enough seating for 100 or 200, and a lot of people were left outside”, he said. Even state-owned Central China Television sent a reporter to interview Sun.
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Grassroots Chinese rights activists have repeatedly called for an end to discrimination and for changes to school textbooks they say might encourage it, as well as classes in gender diversity. He recalled bringing Sun home to the countryside several months ago, where he introduced him to some old friends, who shrugged off the revelation that he was gay.
