Yimou Lee

By Yimou Lee
Voices

The passage of the same-sex marriage bill in New York in June not only led to great celebration across the United States, it sparked an unprecedented online buzz about homosexuality in China.

Tens of thousands of gays and lesbians across China, who were watching the U.S. proceedings closely, were stunned to hear an uncharacteristic comment made by an official in Chinese state media. The official assured members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community of their place in China for the first time in recent memory.

Earlier, Liping Lu, an award-winning Chinese actress, triggered heated discussion and criticism by citing the Bible to condemn gay marriage on her micro blog in response to the passage of same-sex marriage in New York. In her messages, she described New York as an “ever-degenerating place” and said even if anti-homosexuality becomes illegal some day, she will keep preaching since “homosexuality is a crime.”

Each of her messages attracted more than 10,000 comments, with most condemning her hate speech. Celebrities, writers and academics from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan showed support for the gay community. Some 43 percent of Web users say they will boycott all of Lu’s movies, and her invitation to Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards ceremony, where she received the Best Leading Actress Award last year, was rescinded.

The public’s reaction in China may be surprising, but nothing compared to how the state media reacted.

CCTV, the major state television network in China, stepped into the fray with a surprisingly strong defense of the rights of homosexuals. CCTV News host Qiu Qiming said gays are “diligently contributing to society” and “have the right to exist and develop themselves in society,” which “should not be overtaken by any other concept.”

Qiu also urged Lu to “reconsider her ways.”

For a communist state in which gay sex was not decriminalized from “hooliganism” laws until 1997 and homosexuality was not removed as a mental illness until 2001, Qiu’s remarks are considered the Chinese Communist Party’s first nod to the LGBT community.

Unlike Western societies where Christianity had long built certain moral grounds against homosexuality, the pantheistic religions in China don’t have that kind of black-and-white rule for homosexuals. But exclusive same-sex love is still publicly unacceptable since it interferes with continuation of the family lineage.

Yet, vivid depictions of the gay lifestyle are not uncommon in Chinese history. Some historians even claim that almost half of the Chinese emperors in history have had one or more male sex partners. There were probably 10 bisexual emperors during the first 200 years of the Han Dynasty. But things changed after the Chinese Communist Party adopted the communist morality from the Soviet Union during the Culture Revolution and dragged the LGBT community back into the dark ages.

Lu’s hate speech is not so unusual considering China’s ability to copy peculiar ideas that have taken hold in developed countries. In China, though, the consensus has been that everyone should have the liberty to pursue a wealthy life.

Some Chinese gay-rights advocates claim the CCTV’s comment signals “a new era of gay people in China,” and same-sex marriage could be legalized within the next decade.

So, is it time to celebrate? Not so fast. One shouldn’t rule out the possibility of this simply being a political move for Beijing as a response to the rise of the political power of Christianity in China. Plus, the outrageous public reaction only indicates that the Chinese public is still in the early stages of public discussion on these social issues.

The lack of a public forum is another problem. Many consider homosexuality a private issue, which, like many other social problems in China, including domestic violence, is “one’s own family business.” It is something deeply rooted in the cultural mindset and cannot be changed in a short time. In addition, same-sex marriage would destroy the underlying foundation of the Chinese culture: To carry on one’s family tree.

The LGBT rights victory in New York unexpectedly ignited what arguably is the first public debate over homosexuality in China, foreshadowing a changing nation where differences and diversity are gradually accepted. But in terms of real changes, maybe a politician from another country with a similar culture but is a democratic state could provide a quick answer. Taiwan, a country described as one of the most liberal in Asia as far as LGBT rights are concerned, is now planning to put same-sex marriage into its national human rights report.