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Cat Wang

A Chinese LGBT advocacy group has suspended operations indefinitely and closed its social media accounts amid a nationwide tightening of social controls.
LGBT Rights Advocacy China, a non-profit providing legal support for the LGBT community, announced the move early on Friday.
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”.
China’s LGBT community joins big tech, education and celebrities in the spotlight
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.


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.
Officials have increasingly pushed the narrative that LGBT culture is an imported “Western” idea, while expressing concern that big tech platforms are spreading subversive views and ideas that could upend traditional ideas of gender.
In July WeChat moderators shut down more than a dozen LGBT accounts run by students and non-governmental organisations and soon after that LGBT Rights Advocacy China changed its Chinese name from “LGBT equal rights advocates association” to “gay advocates online”.
Chinese athlete comes out as gay as government steps up LGBT repression
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.


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Chinese LGBT support group shuts down operations

LGBT groups have found themselves caught up in a broader social crackdown. Photo: AFP

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China’s LGBT people are under pressure on a number of fronts as the country’s government continues with sweeping economic, social and education reforms. Photo: Handout

NANJING, CHINA - AUGUST 31: Singer/actor Roy Wang Yuan of boy group TFBoys performs during his first solo concert 'Yuan' at Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre on August 31, 2019 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

BEIJING, CHINA - NOVEMBER 05: Actress Zheng Shuang attends the premiere of film 'Chasing Dream' on November 5, 2019 in Beijing, China. (Photo by VCG/VCG via Getty Images)

epaselect epa06037444 (01/34) A gay couple kisses during a party after a LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) mass wedding organised by the Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) China organisation on a cruise in open seas on route to Sasebo, Japan, 15 June 2017. About 800 members of the Chinese LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community and their parents spent four days on a cruise trip organised by Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) China, a grassroots non-government organisation, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the organisation. It aims to promote coexistence among homosexuals and their families. EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG CHINA OUT ATTENTION: For the full PHOTO ESSAY text please see Advisory Notice epa06037443

This picture taken on March 25, 2016, shows Yari Ferreira, a transgender performing during the preliminary round of Big Queen, a cross-dressing contest in the Icon Club in Shanghai. China only decriminalised homosexuality in 1997 and discrimination is common, although tolerance is greater in major cities, and the Shanghai Pride group mounts an annual series of events for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community and their supporters. / AFP PHOTO / JOHANNES EISELE [17SEPTEMBER2017 FEATURE POST MAGAZINE]

FILE - In this July 31, 2014 file photo, gay rights campaigners act out electric shock treatment to protest outside a court when the first court case in China involving so-called conversion therapy is held in Beijing, China. A gay man in central China has successfully sued a mental hospital over forced conversion therapy on June 26, 2017, in what activists are hailing as the first such victory in the country where the LGBT rights movement is gradually emerging form the fringes. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan, File)

Chinese LGBT athlete comes out as gay on social media and receives huge support despite government repression and censorship

A Chinese volleyball player, Sun Wenjing (R), has out as a lesbian on social media, but most traditional media outlets have ignored the story. Photo: new.qq.com

Chinese volleyball player comes out as lesbian on social media and announcement censored on some online platforms. A Chinese volleyball athlete has taken the rare step of publicly revealing she is gay by releasing a marriage-registry-style photo of her and her girlfriend on Weibo.âShe doesnât need to do anything, but I am surrendered time and again. She is the whole part of me, for one year and another,â athlete Sun Wenjing wrote on the social media platform last week.CREDIT: new.qq.com

Chinese volleyball player comes out as lesbian on social media and announcement censored on some online platforms. A Chinese volleyball athlete has taken the rare step of publicly revealing she is gay by releasing a marriage-registry-style photo of her and her girlfriend on Weibo.âShe doesnât need to do anything, but I am surrendered time and again. She is the whole part of me, for one year and another,â athlete Sun Wenjing wrote on the social media platform last week.CREDIT: Weibo

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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



LGBT Rights Advocacy China has suspended its activities indefinitely and closed its social media account amid an ongoing tightening of social controls.


Human rights in China