China’s Nixes Gay Marriage
Parliament cites “cultural traditions”
BY MATT TRACY
Barely three months
after Taiwan solidifi
ed same-sex
marriage rights,
political leaders in Beijing are
shutting down any discussion
of extending those rights to
the Chinese mainland.
Zang Tiewei, a spokesperson
for China’s Parliament,
told reporters during a recent
press conference that Chinese
law only allows for marriage
between a man and a woman.
The discussion surrounding
marriage rights in China
is surfacing at a time of political
uncertainty in Hong Kong,
where protests have persisted
for months over controversial
extradition legislation and
other political issues related
to the future of the “one country,
two systems” model under
which the territory is governed.
Emboldened activists in
Hong Kong have also set their
sights on marriage rights in
the former British territory,
where Hong Kong Marriage
Equality was launched earlier
this month, according to the
South China Morning Post .
Activists are embarking on a
campaign to educate Chinese
people about LGBTQ rights
and warm them up to the idea
of same-sex marriage.
There have been some signs
of progress for LGBTQ rights
in Hong Kong. China’s Court
of Final Appeal earlier this
summer ruled that same-sex
partners in the city can fi le
joint tax returns and gay civil
servants have a right to spousal
benefi ts like healthcare
coverage.
But no such progress appears
on the horizon on the
mainland. Tiewei, according
to Reuters , stated that existing
law “suits our country’s
national condition and historical
and cultural traditions. As
far as I know, the vast majority
of countries in the world do
INTERNATIONAL
ANDREW AND ANNEMARIE/ FLICKR
LGBTQ activists in Hong Kong have
mounted a new push to legalize same-sex
marriage, but lawmakers on China’s mainland
are opposing those rights.
not recognize the legalization
of same-sex marriage.”
Evan Wolfson, who spent
years at the forefront of the US
fi ght for marriage equality as
the founder and president of
Freedom to Marry, isn’t buying
Tiewei’s cultural justifi cation
for rejecting the rights of
same-sex couples in China.
“Instead of selectively invoking
China’s ‘traditions’ — including
marriage of one man
dominating many women — I
think the Chinese government
will want to study the progress
underway among its neighbors
and worldwide and listen
to the aspirations of Chinese
young people to see the country
move forward,” Wolfson,
who recently helped push for
marriage rights in nearby Taiwan,
told Gay City News in a
written statement.
Wolfson further pointed
to statistics regarding marriage
rights internationally,
stressing that more than 1.1
billion people live in 28 different
parts of the world where
marriage equality is a reality.
He emphasized evidence that
have shown the benefi ts marriage
rights have had on families
and societies around the
globe.
“It makes more sense to allow
gay people to participate
alongside others as they build
lives and are part of families
in China, and China’s gay people
and their non-gay family
members, co-workers, businesses,
and friends deserve
nothing less,” he said.
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