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Beijing LGBT Center

Coordinates:39°54′21.1″N116°28′19.6″E/ 39.905861°N 116.472111°E/39.905861; 116.472111
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Beijing LGBT Center
Bắc Kinh đồng chí trung tâm
FormationFebruary 14, 2008;16 years ago(2008-02-14)[1]
DissolvedMay 15, 2023;14 months ago(2023-05-15)
PurposeLGBTrights, research, and mental health support
HeadquartersBeijing, China
Coordinates39°54′21.1″N116°28′19.6″E/ 39.905861°N 116.472111°E/39.905861; 116.472111
Servicesadvocacy, service referrals,crisis hotlines
Executive director
Xin Ying[2]
Websitebjlgbtcenter.org.cn[dead link]

TheBeijing LGBT Center(Chinese:Bắc Kinh đồng chí trung tâm;also known as bắc cùng văn hóa ) was anon-profit organizationdedicated to improving the living environment forLGBT people in China.The group was founded in 2008, and until its closure in 2023, provided resources such as low-cost mental health counseling, a directory of LGBTQ-friendly healthcare providers, and acrisis hotlinefortransgender individuals.[3][4][5]In addition to its advocacy work, the center's offices acted as a community meeting space with film screenings and discussion groups.[6]

History

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The Beijing LGBT Center was founded in 2008 as a cultural outlet for various LGBT service organizations based in Beijing. In its early days, its primary mission was to organize cultural activities, aiming to address a perceived lack of stability and unity within the local LGBT community.[6]Following the departure of its original sponsors, the center hired new staff and transitioned into an independent organization with a renewed focus on advocating for LGBT rights.[7]

A small library collection at the center, featuring a protest sign from 2014 with the message "homosexuality does not need to be treated" ( đồng tính luyến ái không cần bị trị liệu ).[8]

One of the center's first advocacy initiatives involved educating psychologists in China aboutconversion therapy.[7]In 2014, the center helped Yang Teng, a gay man, prepare a case against a clinic inChongqingthat had provided him with conversion therapy that includedelectroshock therapy.The case was successful, and a local court in Beijing eventually declared conversion therapy for "curing" gay people to be illegal altogether.[9][10]Still, the practice of conversion therapy persisted in China. Center employee John Shen and others later went undercover for a 2015 episode ofChannel 4'sUnreported World,revealing that hospitals continued to provide electroconvulsive conversion therapy.[11][12]

The center's research efforts included the administration of the Chinese Gender and Sexual Minorities Psychological Health Survey and a 2017 survey withPeking Universityon the mental health of transgender Chinese people.[13][14]Other forms of activism organized by the center were meant to replacepride parades,which were frequently forbidden by authorities.[7]One example was a protest ofWeibo's planned ban on gay content, in which volunteers wearing blindfolds and t-shirts reading "I am gay" stood with their arms out and solicited hugs from passersby.[15][7][16]The center also partnered with photographer Teo Butturini to createHumans of New York-style portraits of LGBT individuals living in China.[17]

Crackdown and closure

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The Beijing LGBT Center had faced ongoing challenges to stay open, with obstacles arising from both funding limitations and political pressure. LGBTQ groups cannot register asnon-governmental organizationsin China, making it difficult to obtain government approval for events and secure external funding.[7][5]To overcome its financial hurdles, the center organized fundraising events at local bars and received direct financial support from theLos Angeles LGBT Center.[6]Amidst a crackdown on organizations with names containing "homosexuality", "association", and "rights", the center changed its official Chinese name to theportmanteau"Bắc cùng văn hóa" (lit. 'Beijinghomo-culture') in 2021.[18][19]The center also faced pressure from its landlords and was forced to relocate multiple times.[20]

In May 2023, the Beijing LGBT Center announced on its Weibo account that it will be suspending operations after 15 years, citing "forces beyond control" as the only reason.[21][22]This closure was unexpected and came only a week after the center had published an article commemorating its 15 years of dedicated work.[5]ShanghaiPRIDE, one of China’s longest running gay pride groups, anduniversity LGBT spacesacross China have faced similar abrupt shutdowns since 2020.[23][24]

See also

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Reference

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  1. ^"Phát triển lịch trình"[development path].Beijing LGBT Center(in Chinese). Archived fromthe originalon 2021-03-20.
  2. ^Pamela Boykoff, Shen Lu and Serena Dong (October 2015)."Gay subway proposal an Internet hit in China".CNN.Retrieved2020-11-22.
  3. ^"Tsai Center Facilitates Collaborative Research on LGBT-Affirmative Therapy in China".law.yale.edu.5 April 2018.Retrieved2019-06-06.
  4. ^"National transgender hotline launched in China".China Development Brief.Retrieved2019-06-15.
  5. ^abcWu, Huizhong (2023-05-16)."Beijing LGBT Center shuttered as crackdown grows in China".AP News.Retrieved2023-05-16.
  6. ^abc"The Beijing LGBT Center".China Development Brief.2011-10-07.Archivedfrom the original on 2023-05-15.Retrieved2023-05-15.
  7. ^abcdeStroude, Will (2020-01-13)."'Being LGBTQ in China is difficult - but more and more young people are bravely coming out'".Attitude.Retrieved2023-05-15.
  8. ^"Man wins lawsuit in China over forced gay conversion therapy".AP NEWS.2021-05-01.Retrieved2023-05-15.
  9. ^Qian, Jinghua (19 May 2016)."LGBT Mental Health: Closet Prejudice Remains".Sixth Tone.Retrieved2019-06-15.
  10. ^"Chinese transgender man fights for job equality".AP News.2016-05-30.Retrieved2023-05-16.
  11. ^Casparis, Lena de (2015-10-08)."Why We All Need To Watch Unreported World: China's Gay Shock Therapy".ELLE.Retrieved2019-06-15.
  12. ^Graham-Harrison, Emma; Connaire, Shaunagh (2015-10-08)."Chinese hospitals still offering gay 'cure' therapy, film reveals".The Guardian.ISSN0261-3077.Retrieved2019-06-15.
  13. ^Zhang, Phoebe (2021-06-25)."China's LGBT community at higher risk of depression and suicide, report finds".South China Morning Post.Archivedfrom the original on 2021-07-07.Retrieved2023-05-15.
  14. ^"China's transgender people deprived of vital medical care, Amnesty says".South China Morning Post.2019-05-10.Retrieved2019-06-06.
  15. ^"LGBT activists ask strangers for hugs in China protest at Weibo censorship – PinkNews · PinkNews".pinknews.co.uk.23 April 2018.Retrieved2019-06-06.
  16. ^"China's LGBT community treads cautiously amid intolerance".Reuters.2018-05-21.Retrieved2019-06-06.
  17. ^Dickerman, Kenneth (10 October 2016)."Poignant portraits show what it's like being LGBT in China".Washington Post.Retrieved5 June2019.
  18. ^Hai lượng (8 November 2021)."Vì sống sót, Trung Quốc LGBTQ tổ chức sửa tên, thương nghiệp hóa, nối đường ray chủ lưu giá trị quan".Initium Media(in Traditional Chinese).Archivedfrom the original on 2021-11-13.Retrieved2023-05-15.
  19. ^Yuan, Shawn."LGBTQ in China lament 'dark day' after social media crackdown".Al Jazeera.Retrieved2023-05-15.
  20. ^Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (2013-10-11)."China: Situation and treatment of sexual minorities, particularly in Guangdong and Fu gian; state protection and support services (2011-February 2013)".Refworld.Retrieved2023-05-16.
  21. ^"Chinese LGBTQ Center Closes Down Abruptly Amid Xi Clampdown".Bloomberg News.2023-05-16. Archived fromthe originalon 2023-05-16.Retrieved2023-05-16.
  22. ^"Các vị thân ái đồng bọn... - @ bắc cùng quan hơi Weibo".Weibo(in Simplified Chinese). 2023-05-15. Archived fromthe originalon 2023-05-15.Retrieved2023-05-15.
  23. ^Goh, Brenda; Tham, Engen (2020-08-14)."Chinese LGBT group ShanghaiPRIDE halts work to 'protect safety'".Reuters.Retrieved2023-05-15.
  24. ^Gan, Nectar; Xiong, Yong (2021-07-07)."WeChat deletes dozens of university LGBT accounts in China".CNN Business.Retrieved2023-05-15.
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