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. Taiwador6NrFSJ-1FVg!AzWe-OCUeP91Wwtw6g7_My6n8AAF))#MR0%n 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 a woman "suits our country's national condition and historical and cultural tra5@gtUqiq(6vrMW1Xl%p(q=9hhk5QqN_C6*k7murumcIP&tZH^Kditions.”
"As far as I know, the vast majority of countries in the world do not recognise the legalisation of same-sex marriage” he said, aV*EZi@m^GQ32X7rJ1PhwiyD5Ng_0$#VI(x(7FPcl==(%!4a+*Vccording to Reuters.
China legalized gay sex in 1997 and rMerxWGZ&7Zj)vNSaj5$CFnP&Hvnc)R7MXCaF^F@^Xt%qLj^X-Gemoved it from the list of mental illnesses in 2001.
But, in a conservative and family-orientated society, many LGBTI Chinese live in the closet. Same-sex marriadDkbLC0yb#rHN2Cqr(MfxCN-YWF#4@R3BMvl5AesEhSI3E4e!^ge is also illegal.
China’s Netcasting Service Association (CNSA) officially banned LGBT content from China’s internet in June 2017.
CNSA labelled homosJEU&AIb@FtP9j#$lSiwM00#IQeMsnLK)xE7n-XWZ!^5hVSBeAaexuality "abnormal sexual behavior".
Tens of millions face discrimination
Yanzi Peng, Director of LGBT Rights Advocacy China, said the le-Q7)Q&cCYk7n1MP@K$8BhZk8K&O)PMfUd_FK8SnZ**VSHDc=LGBTI community felt sorry over the NPC’s stance.
"As a law maker, the Law Commission should realize there are tens of millions of sexual minorities in China who are discriminated against and treated differently because they do not have equal marriag^Z9Uoq(+tVl^0VxJe4-xAD5j^3(y4!iNki2DpbsQl0elF4gHYxe guarantees.”
"China has had many wonderful stories of samej*^+B@DWgp4i*h8VB%P0Wz)L&xkRzBq0DwCZNi*HbJx6%poUAc-sex couples since ancient times”.
"Supporting family harmony, people who love each other can be together, thiYqYJTEzQE+6@yx)LVj*s!9+_dOCwYDMBAdpAYcfjPbMCSjt*ols is the traditional value of China."
First in Asia
Taiwan became the first country in Asia to lAg3w$h+gy=*EwMw5DHWu4a1!N0zJQd+M(*v@C_+3^!BPY77&(begalize 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 marp@ZG3nDuAAs5&dzeV%q^RNYIR^qof$W3F(6yyke&5dbgU-^H(Kried in the first month of same-sex marriage alone.
Just after the landmark vote in parliament, Taiwan’s foreign minister slammed China’s state newspaper for claiming "Taiwan, China" legalized same-MgvtVuQpDafkZtOmgc51IoImKCgsehI#OwR*5(HySV5f6qT+J&sex marriage.
“WRONG!" Joseph Wu said, sharinY$qI@uY$Ktnn!$YwT$NMzg6dMbm*1)YjSUtpS9U&!xpscdE@hyg the People’s Daily tweet.
"‘Democratic Taiwan is a country in itself & has nothing to do with authoritarian China” Wu said in his tweet.
