China’s first gay marriage protest
On Valentine’s Day, Beijing’s gay population protested for same-sex marriage to be legalised. This was the first protest for that cause in China.
The protest took place during lunch hour in a well-populated business area.
As part of the protest, flyers were given out, and these flyers were used to cover red carnations.
One of the protestors said she was worried about the police’s reaction.
But the protest went off without a hitch, according to the Advocate.
The flyers said: “Love has no boundaries; it is nothing to do with gender.
“We are homosexuals. We also want a life together with our loved one.
“Please support all kinds of partnerships and all kinds of love. Please support same-sex marriage.”
In addition, many by-standers supported the protesters. “I think it’s only fair; it’s everybody’s right to get married,” Liu Peng, one of the crowd who watched the protest, told the Advocate. “I support them. I think it’s great.”
But Peng was not optimistic about same-sex marriage in China. “I don’t know when China will have gay marriage,” he told the Advocate.
“Not now, but in the future I think China will have gay marriage; but I can’t say when, maybe far in the future.”
Others were less supportive of the cause. Christina Wang, another crowd member, said: “I am a Christian and I don’t think it’s right. I don’t think it’s healthy to be gay.”
Although homosexuality in China is no longer considered a mental illness, it is still taboo.
China had a strong supporter of same-sex marriage in Li Yinhe, a well-known sexologist in that country.
According to the Advocate, she had given three proposals to China’s parliament to make same-sex marriage legal.
But all three were turned down, and Yinhe recently announced she was no longer campaigning for same-sex rights.
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