Last month, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the nation’s Constitution guarantees a right to marriage and equal protection under the law, making same-sex marriage legal in all fifty states. In the aftermath of the ruling, three Chinese LGBT activists came together to discuss–in their own terms–what the landmark decision means for them, their community, and for China.
China’s Ministry of Health announced this month that they have lifted the ban on lesbian blood donation put in place in 1988. The lifetime ban on blood donation by gay men will stand.
Blood donations are an important component of the growing public health system in China and were thrown into the spotlight after the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Xian, the director of Beijng-based lesbian organization, Tongyu, applauded the change in guidelines, telling the Global Times “It is also about our dignity and the elimination of blood donation discrimination.”
The first China Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual &Transgender (LGBT) Community Leader Conference took place last weekend and the “intense debates about the development of ideas, tactics and future directions for the LGBT movement in China” are hopefully just the beginning. Hosted by the Beijing Gender Health Education Institute, the conference boasted almost 100 regionally diverse activists representing 53 organizations and a wide range of viewpoints. To see a longer write up and many great pictures check out the Queer Comrades blog here.
By Brian Bonci
At the United Nations, senior officials today drew attention to laws around the world which discriminate against LGBT people, and called for equality and the repeal of such laws.
One step forward, two steps back: Chinese health rights lawyer Yu Fangqiang reports that he has established
a new NGO in Nanjing, while Shanghai’s Rainbow Space, a gender and sexuality center, lost their home in Shanghai.
