In China, despite some restrictions – involving the arrests of various activists before May 17 – more than 90% of planned events around the country were successfully carried out. This amounted to a total of more than a hundred events around the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia 2014.

The following is a short report on just some of the highlights from around the country this year.

Goldman Sachs China LGBT Youth Career Workshop

On May 11, 2014, Aibai Culture and Education Center, Goldman Sachs and Beijing LGBT Center co-organized an IDAHO event “Goldman Sachs China LGBT Youth Career Workshop” in Beijing. This event was also part of Goldman Sachs’ Community TeamWorks (CTW) events in China. 25 LGBT undergraduate and graduate students from 12 universities in Beijing participated in the event. Through interactive one-to-one conversations, volunteers provided career coaching to LGBT college students, involving the exchange of practical tips and personal experiences.

Goldman Sachs China LGBT Youth Career Workshop, for IDAHOT 2014 in China.

Queer film screening and discussion in Beijing

On May 16, The Crossroads Centre and the Beijing Queer Film Festival hosted an IDAHOT event with the support of
of the French embassy, DKT International Beijing and the EU Delegation. Taking place in Library of the Goethe-Institute, the event included the screening of the documentary Global Gay followed by a discussion with the producers Valérie Montmartin and Alexandre Marcel as well as the members of the Beijing Queer Film Festival’s Committee.

The producer of ‘Global Gay’, Valérie Montmartin, talking about the documentary.

Release of new report on gay and lesbian well-being

On the same day, The Beijing LGBT Center and Institute of Psychology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences released a report on the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of gay and lesbian people in China, to mark the Day. The report is the first national survey on the mental health of gay and lesbian communities, and it focuses equally on both men and women, unlike similar surveys in the past that were focused only on gay men. A total of 1,600 respondents from all over the country completed the survey, and about 30 percent were found to have a tendency towards depression, and about 20 percent were identified as facing a particularly high risk of depression.

Beijing Queer Chorus joins the global Sing-in for IDAHOT 2014

On May 17, Beijing Queer Chorus (previously known as Tianjien Gay Chorus) performed an IDAHOT concert at Sunrise Hall, Caoyu Theater, Beijing.

Mountain hike in Changsha, Hunan Province

In Changsha, Hunan Province, despite the annual Pride Walk event being suspended by authorities, volunteers still went through with the event by proudly hiking a local mountain trail.

Storytelling and community-building in Liaocheng, Shandong Province

In Liaocheng, Shandong Province, a local LBT community organization gathered at a village fair to share their stories of being LGBT with villagers and raised visibility and awareness of LGBT issues in rural areas.

Further information

• New York Times: Tiananmen Square Anniversary Prompts Campaign of Silence
• Buzzfeed: Nine LGBT Activists Arrested in China – But Gay Pride March Still Planned
• US Embassy in China: Statement for May 17, 2014
• Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in China: Statement for May 17, 2014

Beijing: Queer Comrades Fight Transphobia

A member of the group Queer Comrades summarised the Beijing actions in a Huffington Post mini blog:

The theme of our 2013 Beijing IDAHO event is “LGBT – Increasing Transgender Visibility in China.” Chinese society is currently still largely unaware of the plight of transgendered people in China, who face stigma and discrimination on a daily basis. With the event, we focus on bringing attention to transgender communities in China and increasing public understanding of transgender issues. We specifically reach out to representatives of the media, educational professionals and psychological counselors, as they fulfill important first-line roles in the spreading of information and the providing of help regarding transgender issues.

At the event, we’ll premiere our Queer Comrades documentary “Brothers,” one of the first Chinese documentaries to focus on Female-to-Male Transgender communities. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion including Yaoyao (director of the documentary), Tony (transgender man, documentary main character), Joanne Leung (founder Transgender Resource Center Hong Kong), Zhen Hongli (psychologist Global Care Women & Children’s Hospital Beijing), and Guo Yanan (Aibai Transgender Program Assistant). This will be followed by an informal networking event where everybody is encouraged to get to know the Beijing LGBT organizations and their work on transgender issues.

The event is co-organized by The Netherlands Embassy in Beijing, Queer Comrades, the Aibai Culture & Education Center, the Beijing Gender Health Education Institute and Common Language.

The Trailer for “Brothers” can be Viewed Here (English subtitles):

The full documentary (English subtitles) can be viewed, exclusively and free of charge, on the Queer Comrades site: http://www.queercomrades.com/en/videos/queer-comrades-videos/queer-comrades-documentaries/跨性别/

Guangzhou

In China’s third largest city, Guangzhou, two dozen participants gathered to hand out leaflets with information about the International Day Against Homophobia & Transphobia on Friday May 17.

Chengdu

In Chengdu, reports Amy Li on the South China Morning Post site: ‘In the southwestern city Chengdu, volunteers from “Les Chengdu” and “Tongle Chengdu”, two prominent local LGBT groups, awed residents of the Sichuan capital by turning themselves into a “flash mob” at a downtown plaza. Taking the street by surprise, they danced to Kelly Clarkson’s popular song Stronger.’

Chengdu activists turn themselves into a flashmob. Photo: Liang Siyu. Source

Changsha

In the city of Changsha, capital city of Hunan province, in the south-centre of the country, 100 participants attended a pride parade event on Friday, May 17.

A “pride parade” in Changsha on Friday. Photo: A Qiang. Source

Police Intervene in Protest Actions

In Guangzhou, reports Amy Li on the South China Morning Post site: ‘Yang Dai, an activist in Guangzhou, said about two dozen volunteers were passing out hand-made pamphlets about IDAHOBIT in front of a busy mall in downtown Guangzhou around 3pm when police officers approached them. Activists were taken away for questioning and released about an hour later, said Yang. She said that while police didn’t criticise the event, they seemed concerned about the method used to promote it – delivering fliers.’

Guangzhou activists were brought in by police for questioning. Photo: screenshot via Weibo. Source.

Meanwhile, in the city of Changsha, plans proceeded in colour, and without incident, until local police arrived at a hotel where activists were staying on Saturday morning and arrested four participants, according to A Qiang, a Guangzhou-based activist and organiser of the Changsha parade.

19 Year Old Activist, Xiang Yuhan, Held in Custody for 12 Days

By Saturday afternoon, three had been released but one – 19-year-old Xiang Yuhan – was still being held. Shortly afterwards, his lawyer, Lin Qilei, released a statement “He’s been put under administrative detention for 12 days on charges of organizing an illegal rally. His mother is mentally ill and he looks after her. We’ve asked authorities to cut short his detention”. Lin advised that Xiang was being held in Changsha Detention Center. In China, people can be held without trial for at least one month.

Reports Voice of America, ‘Fellow gay rights activist Ah Qiang, who also attended the rally, said he believes Xiang Yuhan was singled out because he is a prominent advocate for LGBT rights in the south of China. Three other people were taken away by police at the same time and were freed a few hours later after questioning. “He [Xiang Yuhan] was the organizer of the rally, he runs a community website for homosexuals and helped launch a similar event last year. He is very active and wants to keep hosting the event in the future,” said Ah Qiang.’

The IDAHO Committee received confirmation Thursday May 30, that Xiang Yuhan was released from prison this morning Thursday, after 12 days detention. Friends advise that he is fine and undeterred from his involvement in activism.

Activists from the group Queer Comrades put together this mini-documentary (English subtitles) about the Changsha actions, police arrests and the case of Xiang Yuhan:

In Beijing, an event entitled “Stop Violence Against LGBT – Fight Homophobia In and Through Education” was held to draw attention to the violence taking place against LGBT people in China. It was geared towards Chinese educators, education officials, the international community and the media.

This was coupled with the premiere of the film “Strong – A Documentary Against Violence towards LGBT People”, a panel discussion and an informal networking event in which guests were invited to learn more about Beijing’s LGBT organizations.

In Wuhan, an anti-discrimination legal forum was held at Wuhan University on 8 May 2012. Renowned gender-equality legal expert Professor Li Ao was a keynote speaker. A street drama entitled “Closet” was also on with the theme of “Break down the closet of homophobia, free people from discrimination!”

In Nanning, activists organized “Rainbow and me, no more homophobia!” in which a group of volunteers went to the commercial street to educate the passers-by about IDAHO and issues related to sexual orientation and gender identity.

In Guangzhou, activists hoisted the rainbow flag to promote equality. In Chongqing, there was a kiss-in and “Rainbow Ride”.

In Kunming, stores in Kunming’s main district were asked to broadcast LGBT songs in a show of support themed “If I Could – Singing for Gay”.

An IDAHO regional consultation meeting was held in Suzhou on May 6 in which more than 20 organizations from mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan shared their experience of local IDAHO activities in the past few years, discussed bullying on campus and various educational activities to promote gender and sexuality diversity, and cooperation on future IDAHO events.