28.05.2008 - Source: Amnesty International

Discrimination against lesbians and gay men ("Annual Report 2008") [ID 23551]

"Lesbian and gay activists criticized a January ruling by the Broadcasting Authority that a television programme portraying same-sex relationships was biased and unsuitable for family viewing. In July, the Court of Final Appeal ruled as discriminatory a law which criminalized same-sex sexual relations in public, but did not criminalize heterosexuals for similar conduct."

Document(s): Open document

20.03.2006 - Source: Konrad Adenauer Stiftung

Report on feminist and gender discourses; changing women's identities amid sociopolitical transformation; review sarting with 1949 ("Zwischen Partei, Markt und Familie: Chinesische Frauenrechte als Kompromissformel?") [#47352],  [ID 4080]

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11.2005 - Source: UK Home Office

Country report of November 2005 ("Country Report - October 2005 (revised November 2005)") [#39234],  [ID 4081]

"6.365 As reported by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services on 1 March 2001, homosexuality is not illegal in China and sodomy was decriminalised in 1997. But as reported by the official People’s Daily newspaper on 20 August 2003, same sex marriages are not permitted.

6.366 According to a report by the Canadian IRB dated 6 March 2002, “The general public’s understanding towards homosexuality can be divided into three stages: in the first stage homosexuals are sinful; in the second stage homosexuals are sick; in the third stage homosexuals are normal. Now China is somewhere between stage one and stage two.” (Based on information from the China Information Center)

6.367 On 13 January 2004 the BBC reported, “As China opens up, the country’s urban gays are slowly coming out. China officially struck homosexuality off the list of mental illnesses two years ago and even smaller cities now boast gay bars and meeting places. Through the internet Chinese gays now have unprecedented access to information about developments in gay rights from overseas sources.”

6.368 As reported by the Asian Sex Gazette on 3 December 2004:
“China has released an official estimate of its gay population for the first time, in what many see as the first steps towards improving treatment of lesbian, gay and bisexual people in the Asian country. The government-sanctioned press agency Xinhua reported that official figures suggest there are 5-10 million gay men in the country at the moment, a corresponding figure of 2-4 percent of the male population. Additionally, the agency reported that 1.35 percent of this segment is infected with HIV, making gay men the second highest risk group after intravenous drug users.”

6.369 As reported by the Kaiser Network on 19 May 2005:
“The Chinese government last month began blocking a popular Web site targeted at gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people that includes information about how to prevent the spread of HIV… The Chinese language site, gaychinese.net, had been receiving 50,000 to 65,000 hits each day – mostly from mainland China -- and contains no sexually explicit or political content, according to site manager Damien Lu, a theater professor at the University of California-Los Angeles…”"

Document(s): Open document

10.2003 - Source: UK Home Office

Country Assessment - October 2003 - Homosexuals ("Country Report - October 2003") [#49232],  [ID 4082]

"6.373. Laws criminalising homosexuality in China were repealed in 1992. Although sporadic instances of police harassment against homosexuals continue to occur, this reflects traditional social taboos and homophobia rather than systematic official harassment. Gay and lesbian groups, like other social organisations, are monitored for possible political activities. [2a] Same sex marriages are not permitted. (See Women, Marriage for more details) [20av.]

6.374. A legal loophole allowed the acquittal of a homosexual brothel owner, and the source states that discreet homosexual bars and clubs exist in the largest cities, with the tacit agreement of local police. [10aa] A March 2002 IRB report states that there are conflicting reports as to whether police do or do not prosecute gay clubs or gay club patrons: the later reports indicate a discrete gay scene is tolerated in the larger cities. [3cd]

6.375. In March 2001, PRC authorities, through the Chinese Psychiatric Association, announced that homosexuality was no longer to be classed as a psychiatric disorder, but part of a "normal life". [10as]

6.376. Homosexuality is known by the phrase tong xing lian - "same sex love". A 1998 report, by the International Lesbian and Gay Association, indicates that the gay community is still covert and loosely organised, with the lesbian community even less apparent. [22r]"

Document(s): Open document