A Beijing advocacy group that served as a secure space for the LGBTQ community was the most recent organization to be shut down due to Chinese leader Xi Jinping's persecution.

The organization's dissolution is a major setback for LGBTQ+ rights advocacy groups that had previously been able to speak openly about their efforts.

Beijing LGBT Center Shuts Down

The Beijing LGBT Center's mission is evolving; it began as a secure location for the community to host events.

The organization evolved into a lobbying group to "enhance the living conditions of the sexually diverse community." They provided low-cost mental health counseling and published inventories of health professionals who are welcoming to LGBTQ individuals.

The center hosted public lectures, film screenings, and other events as its mission evolved. Even after a nationwide crackdown on human rights lawyers and activists began in 2015 following Xi's rise to power, groups like the Beijing LGBT Center continued to advocate publicly for rights like same-sex marriage.

In recent years, this restricted space has contracted even further. In 2021, the well-known LGBT Rights Advocacy China, which filed strategic litigation to promote policy change and the expansion of rights, ceased operations.

The group's founder was detained, and the organization's dissolution was a condition of his release, according to a former Chinese-based activist who has since relocated abroad. Per Fox News, he declined to be identified for fear of government reprisal against his family in China.

As Xi promotes more conservative and conformist values regarding gender and sexual identity, China's LGBTQ community has come under increased political scrutiny.

The administrators of Shanghai Pride announced in 2020 that they would cease all activities without explaining. In 2021, dozens of WeChat accounts operated by LGBTQ groups at top universities were blocked and purged, causing outrage, as per TIME.

Jinghua Qian, an Australian-based journalist born in Shanghai who frequently writes about LGBT issues, stated in a Twitter post that while the LGBT community in China is resourceful and could find a way to circumvent restrictions, this approach is sometimes too nuanced. She wrote, "A secret handshake can't replace a lighthouse."

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Taiwan Allows Same-Sex Couples to Adopt

Almost immediately after the Beijing LGBT Center announced it was ceasing operations due to "unavoidable" and unexplained circumstances, Taiwanese lawmakers approved an amendment allowing same-sex couples to adopt as the most recent recognition of homosexual rights.

Per Washington Post, these two events occurred before the May 17 International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.

For China's LGBTQ+ community, the convergence highlighted how difficult it has become to secure recognition and rights for sexual minorities. However, Taiwan, the self-governed island democracy that Beijing claims as its own, has made progress in granting equal rights to couples of different sexual orientations.

Over the course of 15 years, the center created a space for the LGBTQ+ community, making it a home for many who were marginalized by the Chinese Communist Party's promotion of traditional gender roles and restrictions on the portrayal of same-sex relationships in the public sphere, including on television.

It organized enjoyable runs and social gatherings, conducted surveys with prestigious universities, and connected community members with reputable counselors, physicians, and business professionals.

In addition, the group campaigned against the pervasive, albeit illegal, use of conversion therapy and the pervasive notion that homosexuality is a mental illness. The closure announcement was extensively shared on WeChat and soon surpassed the app's maximum of 100,000 views. A user on Weibo remarked, "At least it's a lavish funeral."

Criticizing the group for promoting "Western" ideas that could undermine the Communist Party's control, conservatives applauded the action.

This debate intensified on Tuesday when Taiwan's legislature amended adoption laws to permit same-sex couples to adopt unrelated children, a key objective of local advocates since the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2019. In recent years, tolerance for formerly marginalized sexual minorities and gender identities has become intertwined with Taiwan's human rights and democracy movements, highlighting the widening gap between Taiwanese and Chinese society.

Others highlighted the politicized and restrictive environment civil rights organizations face in China today, where advocacy of all colors risks being deemed too political by the government.

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