‘It’s difficult to survive’: China’s LGBTQ+ advocates​ face jail and forced confession
www.theguardian.com
Trans and queer people and their supporters suffer ‘systemic persecution’ as country pushes increasingly conservative values

Last I’ve heard, there were some issues, but things were getting better. Now I have stumbled upon this headline and wish to know more details about the situation.

  • Trudge [Comrade]
    1711·
    6 months ago

    Ying’s family – who are not supportive of her trans identity – had been keeping Ying, an adult over 18, under house arrest and cut off from the outside world. In August, they finally allowed her to leave to pursue her studies. She was now at school, but wanted to run away to be with her girlfriend in another city.

    Together, they hatched a plan. Mei would take Ying’s phone to prevent her family from tracking her location and try to persuade them not to call the police. But after a month of failed mediation, the family notified the authorities, who traced the phone to Mei’s apartment. The police came and arrested her for kidnapping.

    “It was my first time being arrested. They took me to the station and questioned me for 10 hours. They tried to make me confess, but I refused to say anything,” Mei tells the Guardian over an encrypted app. “Eventually, they let me go because there was no evidence.”

    In the end, the police found Ying and took her back to her family. The failed rescue attempt is one of more than 10 similar cases Mei knows of where advocates have been arrested and questioned by police since she joined an informal network providing support to the LGBTQ+ community some years ago.

    So this is the main anecdote in the article. The police and the family are rather understandable. The police has to respond to potential kidnappings, and the family couldn’t contact their daughter for a month. The only objectionable thing I find is that the daughter was returned to the family without her consent, but the idea of child becoming an absolute adult at the age of 18 is an American idea so it’s also understandable in cultural context to return a 19 year old.

    Yes, the family involved in the situation is terrible and abusive. Is it state repression by the Chinese government? No. Are the LGBT+ folks having difficulty surviving as the title says? Also no.

    Yes, China should improve on LGBT rights by legalizing gay marriage and allowing gay couples to adopt children. But it’s kind of hard to claim that there is a crackdown on expressing queerness when there’s gay weddings publicly happening across China right now.

    • MarxMadness
      6·
      6 months ago

      “Eventually, they let me go because there was no evidence.”

      We’re supposed to believe this is some 1984 totalitarian hellhole

    • ComradeSalad
      74·
      6 months ago

      The family were perfectly justified in horrifically abusing, torturing, and neglecting their child because they were trans and tried to escape their abuse? Then the police were perfectly justified in bringing the daughter back because she was “kidnapped” when trying to escape the abuse?

      Further, being an adult at 19 is silly and a “western idea” so the daughter should be forced back into in an abusive situation against her will. What age does Chinese law state a person is legally an adult? Or are you going to pull more disgusting justification for transphobia and abuse out of your ass?

      You say that the family was abusive but even because they couldn’t contact the child they’ve abused they’re perfectly justified in kidnapping them essentially???

      “Cultural context”? Give me the cultural context that justifies this.

      Should wives stay with husbands they beat them? Are parents allowed to abuse their children? What other amazing takes do you have?

      Fuck you, that is vile and repulsive. You should be ashamed.

      • Trudge [Comrade]
        83·
        6 months ago

        Yes, the family involved in the situation is terrible and abusive

        Did you choose to just ignore this statement and others I wrote to make my position clear? I understand why you’re angry, but you are completely misreading what I am saying to an absurd degree.

        I am clearly making an argument that Mei being questioned by the police for kidnapping is not indicative of systematic discrimination.

        You can choose to disagree with that statement, vehemently if you prefer. But you’re arguing against a construct where I said that transphobia is a-okay and that Ying’s treatment is acceptable. I didn’t say that so there’s not much for me to object.

        As you know, Lemmygrad is an instance where we see LGBT liberation as a core tenet, so I think you’re misreading the room here. We are objecting to Western slander of gay and trans genocide in China. That’s very different from thinking that the state of affairs in China’s acceptable.

        • ComradeSalad
          32·
          6 months ago

          I was not discussing the slander of the Chinese by western media. I was disgusted at your time regarding the ancedote.

          So this is the main anecdote in the article. The police and the family are rather understandable.

          but the idea of child becoming an absolute adult at the age of 18 is an American idea so it’s also understandable in cultural context to return a 19 year old.

          Chinese law states an individual is a complete adult at 18.