Dangerous Disinformation: Sex-ed Seminar Encourages Anti-LGBT Discrimination in China

Growing concern over increased discrimination due to rising numbers of Mpox infections in China among the LGBTQIA+ community is proving to be well-founded after a recent sex education course by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. An article published on the Chinese social media app WeChat reported on the event, on the back of an unofficial ban on ballroom dancing and voguing in the country. The event was attended by about 80 invited prospective college students and parents. The seminar which was held in Jimo district, Qingdao, Shandong Province advocated for discrimination against homosexuals, claiming that “only by getting married and having children can society prosper.”

The seminar, which was also broadcast live on the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, and garnered a viewership of up to 13,000 Douyin users, advised audiences to encourage their children to follow the path of “normal traditional male and female love” warning young people of “AIDS from college student gay groups,” and to “please choose (not to be gay).” Deng Hongyan, head of the Jiang Aixian Center for Disease Control and Prevention of HIV/AIDS, Physical Health Department of the District Education and Sports Bureau gave the lecture where he further cautioned that there was, as yet, no firewall against homosexuality and that it “impinges on the correct establishment of the concept of love and marriage.”

Such advice goes against international guidelines of standard of care, as professionals and relevant staff are required to disseminate objective and scientific sex education, and equal respect for sexual minorities. The seminar also went against the UNAID’s recommendations and warnings regarding HIV/AIDS advocacy and prevention, in which the organization warned that in countries where same-sex relationships are criminalized, HIV prevalence among Gay men and men who have sex with men (MSM), is five times higher than in countries where same-sex relationships are not criminalized.  

While expressing his disgust at the seminar and its messaging, Alvin* a Gay Beijing resident active in the LGBQTIA+ scene in the city, also said he was not surprised that such a seminar would be held in Shandong Province, which he intimated isn’t as friendly to LGBTQIA+ people. “ I was surprised that people who are supposed to educate people about HIV/AIDS, know so little about it,” Alvin lamented, going on to note that “even an 18-year-old Chinese kid with access to the internet knows more about it than him (Deng Hongyan).”

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Both Chinese and foreign LGBTQIA+ communities have been on edge since the country’s push to “de-sissify” the media two years ago, a move that saw the banning of effeminate men from the media and popular Chinese social media platforms. This occurred in tandem with the banning of LGBT university on-campus groups, WeChat groups, and publishing pages, and most recently, the closure of the last remaining LGBT Center in Beijing. This new focus on the community and especially on Gay men and MSM has led many to avoid LGBTQIA+ topics on the country’s government-monitored social media platforms for fear of being banned, and others even fear arrest. However, there have been no reports of such an action having been taken.

China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997 and declassified it as a mental disorder in 2001. While Article 33 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of China provides for equality for all citizens under the law, there are no provisions for protection from discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation or gender identity. However, there have been instances in which LGBTQIA+ individuals who faced forms of discrimination including termination of employment due to their sexuality have successfully sued and received compensation under the law. By contrast, the island of Taiwan became the first in all of Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, and recently, the island also legalized adoption for same-sex couples.

Though the government had, in the past, taken an ambivalent approach toward gender and sexual minorities in the country, actions such as banning effeminate men and the closure of the last remaining LGBT Center in Beijing have left many wondering what the future holds. “It terrifies me because it shows that in most of my country, the men who are ignorant and lack education are the ones who are in charge,” Alvin said of the seminar and the future of the country.