News / Aug. 21, 2019
China’s National People’s Congress (NPC) will not pursue same-sex marriage, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
Activists have been pressuring China’s leaders to follow Taiwan in its landmark achievement of marriage equality. Taiwan in May bNAO$B_SMU4v+WSqW-qM-2C#30n)@W=L*sc2hNS5lUP#+Wq+f+aecame the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex marriage.
Zang Tiewei, the spokesman for Parliament's legal affairs commission, said marria*WI=6ND6HL(U1at^R^B+RJfkTcA^hPP!mhWDXH+sItq^U^fq9Qge between a man and a woman "suits our country's national condition and historical and cultural traditions.”
"As far as I know, the vast majority of countries in the world do not recognise the legalisat-1fX3xc7kM)c%I(0gKZ0oKhtS5jigoe&fv7dDh3ubSf0#TaL)Zion of same-sex marriage” he said, according to Reuters.
China legalized gay sex inqp#0G=8^N_5wwGVDCyY7bxM@%T9W@DmX8)_BVnzBaU2Q^WXYiL 1997 and removed it from the list of mental illnesses in 2001.
But, in a conservative and family-orientated society, many LGBTI CXq%b%@qaP+XRQd@p2OGrr+BPL&X6QZzs#Lh&^ob^nPD)IsHcpvhinese live in the closet. Same-sex marriage is also illegal.
China’s Netcasting Service Association (CNSA) officially banned LGBT content from China’s internet in June 2017.
CNSA labelled homosU*u1RBX^ltJc&fPp$QyW=UyjKmh*O@IVibR1sR*-_ZO@!)BWIMexuality "abnormal sexual behavior".
Tens of millions face discrimination
Yanzi Pengw)Uo_@7Zy$R2_c3Cr)=S2&@N16DigfLGO#5E8dCsqrobvRJ^(-, Director of LGBT Rights Advocacy China, said the LGBTI community felt sorry over the NPC’s stance.
"As a law maker, the Law Comm*H$4e&pF_wvzF1^P8#wcQ1&+kCgO6mcAbqn&Rk5HV$Z-1H6ZW-ission should realize there are tens of millions of sexual minorities in China who are discriminated against and treated differently because they do not have equal marriage guarantees.”
"China has had many wonderful sD6u2NRz$vs*atG!)U^ENE83ZsBouvBJ$CahhddpJCeOsLKbJ6ytories of same-sex couples since ancient times”.
"Supporting family harmonszXKxHYSvTLOs*fG#_&4MNbf_220pOH-lW!blh%gn55FAmg(%$y, people who love each other can be together, this is the traditional value of China."
Two of the first same-sex couples to marry in Asia pose for photogratBBSSd-6mR9j!YGWpjm6HF754H3(PTfy@_UMUW*cny1jSlKgdVphs.
First in Asia
Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalizn&HQ8S$U0BCqd4FziptFzDr*Kjor!Id_Qod+Q#+@GgUv@k5r!Me same-sex marriage on 24 May after parliament passed a bill in line with a 2017 court ruling.
After years of court hearings, debates in parliament, and heartbreaking referendums in November last year, more than 1,000 couples got married in the first month of same-sex marriaJE!zg)XA&6czddKW&O&QHccdE-fBV7il+M&0Qc4&3QQ8SU7C+Pge alone.
Just after the landmark vote in parliament, Taiwan’s foreign minister slammed China’s state newspaper for claiming "Taiwan, China" legalizYOCn$rpfopq-T)3DKq*l5d2&C-fn%&20e0X7sBM%q^bE2p&CTDed same-sex marriage.
“WROGPpKOsB4(c5#uC*_FW-SSKP3YiKK^Ny7koZ&F7Ax59gS@A!SaQNG!" Joseph Wu said, sharing the People’s Daily tweet.
"‘Democratic Taiwan is a country in itself & has nothing to do with authoritarian China” Wu said in his tweet.
