TAIPEI — A prominent LGBT advocacy group in China, which has led many legal cases advocating for greater rights, is stopping its work due to growing restrictions on social activism.
LGBT Rights Advocacy China made an announcement via social media on Thursday that it would cease all activities and shut down its social media accounts.
Queer Advocacy Online will cease all work indefinitely, we are deeply sorry to inform everyone,” the group posted on WeChat using the name of the social media account. It shut down its WeChat, Weibo and Weibo accounts. These are two popular platforms in China.
One member confirmed that the group’s activities had been stopped. The member spoke on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press to discuss safety concerns and declined to give any explanations. Peng Yanzi, founder of the group, did not respond when asked.
LGBT Rights Advocacy China worked across China, promoting gay rights and raising awareness about the community. It supported same-sex marriage, and helped victims of workplace discrimination to sue their former employers.
There are many groups that help LGBT people, but LGBT Rights Advocacy is the only one who focuses on changing law and policy.
According to the official Xinhua News Agency, Friday’s announcement by the Ministry of Civil Affairs stated that they had dealt with 3,300 illegally operated social organizations. Some 200 websites and social media accounts belonging to illegal organizations were also closed by the ministry.
It is not clear if the group was closed as part of the government’s campaign. A faxed request to comment was not answered by the ministry.
According to a 30-year old LGBT activist who knew the founders of the group and spoke under anonymity, the group had mentioned that they were in trouble just a few months back. The group had stopped working with lawyers who assisted them in cases.
LGBT Rights Advocacy China was founded by Peng and AQiang in 2013. They focused their efforts on securing legal protections for LGBT people through strategic lawsuits.
In 2014, Peng went undercover to an electroshock therapy facility that claimed it could treat homosexuality. He sued the company, and was successful.
This group frequently brought to court landmark cases, challenging the law to allow for non-traditional families. They also helped to start public conversations about these issues.
After her partner had taken her children and stopped communicating with her, a lesbian was helped by them to sue for custody rights. She was the mother of one of the children. She could claim that she was the mother of one of the children under Chinese law. However, she wanted to be able to see the other child as well. She is still in court.
A young woman was also assisted by the group to sue textbook publishers. She claimed that homosexuality was a disorder. This was in a highly publicized case that was covered nationally and featured in state media. After years of litigation, she lost the case in February.
A 34-year old man said that the group gave him hope and guidance. He sued his former employer for discrimination in 2018 and was successful with the support of the group. Out of fear of retribution, he declined to name his former employer due to the current environment.
China does not consider homosexuality a crime. In larger cities, there is a vibrant LGBT community where people can interact without fear or discrimination. Online censorship and restrictions on advocacy groups have increased.
WeChat closed down many accounts that were run by students at universities and other non-profit organizations on LGBT topics in July.
A blogger from LGBT, who declined to be identified out of fear of retribution said that it is becoming increasingly difficult to manage an LGBT group under current circumstances. He noted that WeChat, and other social media platforms, are deleting similar content.
Shanghai Pride cancelled its 2020 annual event and stated that it would not hold it again without explanation, after having been in operation for 11 years.
True Self, another well-known group that held events to help families accept their LGBT children, advised people not to use the word “gay”, according to the man who previously sued his employer for discrimination. “The acceptance of sexual minorities is decreasing, it’s not like ever before.”
He also said that pandemic restrictions had also contributed to a reduction in the number of events these groups could hold.
Groups are currently struggling to work within these constraints.
“The future may be more uncertain, we await the day we can lift the clouds to see the daylight,” LGBT Rights Advocacy China stated in a post.
