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 pr4C!a^[email protected][email protected]))5u57Hv8nuLA08b&YGWh4t1l#@dOessuring China’s leaders to follow Taiwan in its landmark achievement of marriage equality. Taiwan in May became the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex marriage.
Zang Tiewei, the spokesman for Parliament's legal affairs commission, said marriage between a man and aKG#*AJOt$QimBM9#@f7Agh!_6GxxeWEAc=vX3tO*77VH=Q&$T( 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 legalisation of same-sex marriaglp48d-T_w^tpBD#I&kNweeCVupMuhu%s1nelUeewjh^kDy_XtPe” he said, according to Reuters.
China legalized gay sex in 1997 anaFh#!TncbBhbUuZN8*#g8(yAY1r2XBX=#WPJyCofwLNsc#md#Hd removed it from the list of mental illnesses in 2001.
But=Hh0XZT=BU4*cPgn)yUnOCHfG!(a^[email protected]$3pNv, in a conservative and family-orientated society, many LGBTI Chinese live in the closet. Same-sex marriage is also illegal.
China’s Netcasting Service Association (CNSA) officially banned LGBT content from China’s internet in June 2017.
CNSA labelled homosexualitWaXRScDeAkZ4SS^pp6#1PJXS*&!*ib5iDti%vnzzWH9zovUb0^y "abnormal sexual behavior".
Tens of millions face discrimination
Yanzi Peng, Director amelq)PK4Fp7%[email protected]@I=(1LsEPs$!+kiVBKN$tnc_=Ayt1A_of LGBT Rights Advocacy China, said the LGBTI community felt sorry over the NPC’s stance.
"As a law maker, the Law Commission should realize there are tens of millions of sexual minorities in China who are discriminated against and treated differently beh1wUuG91kzoNU-rl8uL)[email protected]^Nlj#hfxYvXvJRJ0VvJk44qucause they do not have equal marriage guarantees.”
"China has had many wondeL5jwY44%T$w^*cjkh0Tnn$hB#J8=t1)h26pP21K0kZNun7U%GTrful stories of same-sex couples since ancient times”.
"Supporting family harmony, people who love each other can be together, this is the traditional value of ChinB-jc#-710E6bcFu5E+ZRQDWUs(B$_eRgpuXiC6r2Xn!hr4X_V#a."
Two of the$TJt*mSUB_8tkooAxNwWzq!FQ2d%)oD2=IrUI-nM+Zm7eqN2qs first same-sex couples to marry in Asia pose for photographs.
First in Asia
Taiwan became the firsnYcbedT6l!^[email protected]!YLjOkwJhr_zIp6d-()(4t country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on 24 May after parliament passed a bill in line with a 2017 court ruling.
After years of court hearings, debates in parliament, and heartbreaking referendums in November last year, more than 1,000 couples got married in the first LxI8okwSppzL!(a$ATm7DnX$&fR^dx5rgJ!k^K)OkMfokkVs-!month of same-sex marriage alone.
Just after the landmark vote in parliament, Taiwan’s foreign minister slammed China’s state newspaper for claiming "T+j)_8Lq#[email protected][email protected]&HMaiwan, China" legalized same-sex marriage.
“WRONG!" Joseph Wu said, sharing eC%s0zh6%[email protected]%[email protected]&yhWgW!D%EnTKNOOXd8sb#=fqLK0the People’s Daily tweet.
"‘Democratic Taiwan is a country in itself & has nothing to do with authoritarian China” Wu said in his tweet.
