https://www.scmp.com/rss/502825/feed en https://assets.i-scmp.com/static/img/icons/scmp-meta-1200x630.png https://www.scmp.com Edmund Lee Edmund Lee 2.5/5 stars A bus blast on Valentine’s Day in 1998 that killed 16 and injured dozens in Wuhan, in China’s Hubei province, provides the blueprint for We’re Nothing at All, a trenchant drama that marks a rare rekindling of Herman Yau Lai-to’s passion for socially conscious storytelling after the veteran Hong Kong filmmaker’s mostly bombastic action blockbusters over the past decade. Anchored by visceral performances from a pair of singer-actors, who play the misanthropic gay couple at the heart of... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348613/were-nothing-all-movie-review-herman-yaus-grim-social-critique-too-heavy-handed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3348613/were-nothing-all-movie-review-herman-yaus-grim-social-critique-too-heavy-handed?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Apr 2026 11:15:08 +0000 Zoey Zhang Zoey Zhang A gay man in northern China who married his boyfriend’s sister to secure relocation compensation died in a traffic accident, sparking a bitter dispute over his estate between his wife, his lover and his parents. Xu Tian, a 48-year-old Beijing native and senior executive at a state-owned company, had been in a 10-year relationship with his boyfriend, Xue Chong, a doctor two years his junior. Neighbours said the gay couple often posed as father and son in public. Both families knew about their... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3334358/china-wife-gay-husband-contests-estate-against-his-lover-and-parents-after-mans-death?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3334358/china-wife-gay-husband-contests-estate-against-his-lover-and-parents-after-mans-death?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 03 Dec 2025 06:00:10 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3334442/chinas-lgbtq-community-loses-safe-spaces-blued-finka-apps-vanish?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3334442/chinas-lgbtq-community-loses-safe-spaces-blued-finka-apps-vanish?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 21 Nov 2025 10:00:00 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang The vulnerability of safe digital spaces for China’s LGBTQ community has been underscored by the abrupt removal of the country’s two most popular same-sex dating apps – Blued and Finka – from mainland app stores under government orders. The apps, both owned by Hong Kong-based BlueCity Holdings Ltd, were first noticed missing by Chinese social media users last weekend. Apple confirmed the removals in a statement sent to the South China Morning Post on Thursday, explaining that it follows the laws... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3332962/chinas-lgbtq-community-loses-key-lifeline-blued-finka-apps-abruptly-vanish?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3332962/chinas-lgbtq-community-loses-key-lifeline-blued-finka-apps-abruptly-vanish?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 16 Nov 2025 08:00:15 +0000 Meredith Chen Meredith Chen https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3329235/ai-censorship-horror-film-raises-fears-chinas-lgbtq-cinema?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3329235/ai-censorship-horror-film-raises-fears-chinas-lgbtq-cinema?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 10 Oct 2025 10:00:00 +0000 Phoebe Zhang Phoebe Zhang https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3328347/beijing-prepares-host-womens-summit?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3328347/beijing-prepares-host-womens-summit?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 09 Oct 2025 07:35:20 +0000 Meredith Chen Meredith Chen When the horror film Together reached Chinese cinemas in mid-September, a scene featuring a same-sex wedding did not survive intact: one of the two men’s faces was digitally altered to turn him into a woman. Although film censorship is nothing new in China, this incident triggered a fierce backlash and calls for a boycott – both for the attempts to erase LGBTQ identity and allegations that artificial intelligence had been used to make the change. Although the distributors delayed the release of... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3328117/ai-censorship-horror-film-together-raises-new-fears-future-chinese-lgbtq-film?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3328117/ai-censorship-horror-film-together-raises-new-fears-future-chinese-lgbtq-film?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 07 Oct 2025 10:00:15 +0000 Ayman Ragab Ayman Ragab https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3316010/chinas-lgbt-creators-face-growing-online-censorship?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3316010/chinas-lgbt-creators-face-growing-online-censorship?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000 Cat Nelson Cat Nelson Over the decade I lived in mainland China, one of the most exciting things was witnessing the rise of a new generation of Chinese chefs. In 2013 Beijing, contemporary fine dining meant course after course generously showered in black truffle, accompanied by thick medallions of foie gras or, should the kitchen be quite forward-thinking, perhaps there would be hints of molecular gastronomy present on the plate. It was almost definitely Western or perhaps it was Dong Zhenxiang at Da Dong – most... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3310566/week-postmag-hks-underground-ballroom-scene-and-chinese-fine-dining?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3310566/week-postmag-hks-underground-ballroom-scene-and-chinese-fine-dining?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 May 2025 00:00:09 +0000 I was scrolling through Instagram, as one does, when a particularly arresting image stopped me. Roughly hewn wooden beams and rafters holding up a high ceiling. Puffs of steam caught in the light. A floor blanketed in white snow-like powder. “I really thought this was AI or game art” read one comment. In fact, it was a photograph of a salt well in Sichuan province posted by Shanghai-based writer Christopher St. Cavish – the first in a carousel of photos from a week-long research trip to Zigong,... https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3305179/week-postmag-chinas-salt-capital-and-cruise-mighty-mekong-river?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/postmag/culture/article/3305179/week-postmag-chinas-salt-capital-and-cruise-mighty-mekong-river?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 05 Apr 2025 07:00:09 +0000 Police in eastern China have been targeting dozens of writers who posted gay-themed erotica online, resulting in heavy fines and even prison sentences. However, the crackdown by officers in Anhui, who have been investigating and detaining people from other provinces, has prompted concerns that officers are abusing their powers as well as a wider debate about whether the law is too severe. According to posts on social media, many of those arrested had been posting stories on the Taiwanese-based... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3293014/chinese-police-target-writers-gay-erotica-prison-terms-and-heavy-fines?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3293014/chinese-police-target-writers-gay-erotica-prison-terms-and-heavy-fines?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 01 Jan 2025 07:00:09 +0000 Hong Kong could face the risk of an mpox outbreak if the population, which has a low immunity against the virus in general, does not remain alert, experts have warned, after the global health watchdog declared a public emergency. Local health authorities on Thursday urged the public to remain vigilant against mpox, while expanding a reporting criteria of a suspected case, from history of travel to an area in Africa previously known as mpox endemic, to anywhere on the continent. The World Health... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3274664/hong-kong-risk-mpox-outbreak-population-has-low-immunity-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3274664/hong-kong-risk-mpox-outbreak-population-has-low-immunity-experts-say?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 15 Aug 2024 15:48:42 +0000 Harry Potter author JK Rowling is facing the wrath of netizens in Taiwan after she challenged female Chinese Taipei boxer Lin Yu-ting’s eligibility to compete in the Paris Olympics. Rowling, a vocal opponent to trans rights, said Lin was part of the “insanity” of trans athletes competing in women’s sport. She shared an article on social media platform X about Lin and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif being authorised to compete in the Olympics despite failing gender eligibility tests last... https://www.scmp.com/sport/paris-olympics-2024/buzz/article/3272917/taiwan-cancels-harry-potter-jk-rowlings-bears-netizens-wrath-trans-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/paris-olympics-2024/buzz/article/3272917/taiwan-cancels-harry-potter-jk-rowlings-bears-netizens-wrath-trans-criticism?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 02 Aug 2024 07:30:09 +0000 It is June 18 and the start of the monsoon season in Shanghai. I find myself crammed inside a taxi crawling through traffic from the Pudong district to trendy Anfu Road. I glance at my fellow passenger, the British film star and podcast host Russell Tovey. This is not your everyday cab ride. I am crackling with excitement as I prepare to whisk him off along with a few friends on a whirlwind art-hopping adventure through Shanghai. It is Tovey’s first time in mainland China (he went to Hong Kong... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3269725/how-i-gave-british-lgbtq-icon-russell-tovey-tour-shanghais-very-gay-art-scene?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/article/3269725/how-i-gave-british-lgbtq-icon-russell-tovey-tour-shanghais-very-gay-art-scene?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 09 Jul 2024 09:15:08 +0000 In 2013, Hong Kong real estate tycoon Cecil Chao announced he would give HK$1 billion (US$128 million) as a “dowry” to any man who would marry his daughter Gigi. She says the move forced her to come out of the closet as a lesbian amid a global media frenzy. It proved to be a watershed moment for Gigi Chao, who would become a vocal LGBTQ activist and in 2019 co-founded the group Hong Kong Marriage Equality. Gigi opens up to the South China Morning Post about her relationship with her father and... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3267632/gigi-chaos-dad-offered-hk1-billion-man-marry-her-now-shes-lgbtq-activist?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3267632/gigi-chaos-dad-offered-hk1-billion-man-marry-her-now-shes-lgbtq-activist?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jun 2024 03:27:25 +0000 The Chinese city of Chengdu is known by many Chinese millennials as the country’s unofficial “gay capital”, even sometimes dubbed “Gaydu”. Although probably more famous for pandas, Chengdu also has a reputation for its inclusive and laid-back culture. While such prevailing attitudes may have paved the way for a relatively more visible LGBTQ presence, the community must also contend with censorship from Beijing. https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3267700/how-chengdu-became-chinas-unofficial-gay-capital-despite-uncertain-lgbtq-rights?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3267700/how-chengdu-became-chinas-unofficial-gay-capital-despite-uncertain-lgbtq-rights?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 24 Jun 2024 03:23:07 +0000 When Nymphia Wind became the first East Asian contestant to win “America’s Next Drag Superstar” on RuPaul’s Drag Race in April, celebrations erupted across her homeland. Prominent gay bars from north to south held crowded screenings to cheer on their representative from afar, and the accolades were well received – and not just among the LGBTQ+ community. On the show, Nymphia often talked about her heritage and drew on her background to create costumes and masks inspired by the traditional... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3267177/taiwans-drag-queens-go-mainstream-after-nymphia-wind-wins-rupauls-drag-race?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3267177/taiwans-drag-queens-go-mainstream-after-nymphia-wind-wins-rupauls-drag-race?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 19 Jun 2024 10:15:09 +0000 On this day in 2019, Taiwan legalised same-sex marriage – a landmark ruling that made it the first place in Asia to do so. In these newspaper clippings and pictures, we look at the Post’s coverage of the momentous occasion. A week later on May 24, 2019, the law came into effect. Couples arrived in government offices early in the morning to be among Asia’s first legally recognised gay weddings and a mass banquet was held in front of Taipei’s Presidential Palace. https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3262769/taiwan-first-asia-legalise-same-sex-marriage-after-landmark-2019-ruling-scmp-archive?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/3262769/taiwan-first-asia-legalise-same-sex-marriage-after-landmark-2019-ruling-scmp-archive?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 17 May 2024 03:11:53 +0000 Feel strongly about these letters, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification Last month, the findings of a survey showed that as many as 80 per cent of Hong Kong secondary students were unsure about their future. The survey, conducted by researchers at Hong Kong Shue Yan... https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3262698/inspire-hong-kongs-young-people-dream-just-giving-them-chance?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/opinion/letters/article/3262698/inspire-hong-kongs-young-people-dream-just-giving-them-chance?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 16 May 2024 03:30:13 +0000 After coming out as gay in his Yin and Yang: Gender in Chinese Cinema documentary, Rouge director Stanley Kwan Kam-pang started to explore themes of sexuality and gender more deeply. Below we look at two daring films from this experimental phase of the Hong Kong director’s career. Hold You Tight (1998) Hold You Tight came about when Kwan was asked by producers Golden Harvest to make a film starring Chingmy Yau Suk-ching, then best known for her sexy appearances in adults-only Category III films... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3260609/lan-yu-and-hold-you-tight-daring-films-stanley-kwan-hong-kong-director-explore-sexuality?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3260609/lan-yu-and-hold-you-tight-daring-films-stanley-kwan-hong-kong-director-explore-sexuality?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 27 Apr 2024 20:15:16 +0000 Jason Wordie Jason Wordie Among the healthiest and most easily digestible sources of vegetable protein, the humble soybean – known in Cantonese as daai dau (“great bean”) – has provided varied sources of taste and nutrition in China, and other parts of East Asia, for more than 2,000 years. Soybeans are produced in massive quantities all over the world, principally in Australia, Canada, the United States and – increasingly – on vast farms carved in virgin rainforest in the interior of Brazil. Most soybeans are not... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3251573/soybeans-healthy-and-full-protein-theyve-fed-china-centuries-heres-how-theyre-processed-their?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3251573/soybeans-healthy-and-full-protein-theyve-fed-china-centuries-heres-how-theyre-processed-their?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 09 Feb 2024 23:45:15 +0000 Hong Kong immigration authorities have introduced a national security risk test for all visa applicants to prevent people who pose a threat from entering the city, but they insist it will not target foreign journalists and academics. Director of Immigration Benson Kwok Joon-fung revealed on Thursday that his department would evaluate the background and past statements of visa applicants to determine whether they posed a risk to national security. “It’s not a blanket ban, but we will handle each... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3251453/hong-kong-immigration-department-introduces-national-security-risk-test-all-visa-applicants?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3251453/hong-kong-immigration-department-introduces-national-security-risk-test-all-visa-applicants?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 08 Feb 2024 15:17:32 +0000 Was the Roman emperor Elagabalus transgender? A museum in Hitchin, a town halfway between London and Cambridge in Britain, recently changed the pronouns it used when describing an Elagabalus coin in its collection, referring to the emperor as a trans woman using “she/her” pronouns. According to historical records, Elagabalus, who reigned for four years and was murdered in AD222 at the age of 18, dressed as a female prostitute, “married” a male slave and behaved as his “wife”, and wanted to be... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3245142/did-chinese-emperor-identify-woman-roman-emperor-elagabalus-why-we-should-sometimes-question?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/short-reads/article/3245142/did-chinese-emperor-identify-woman-roman-emperor-elagabalus-why-we-should-sometimes-question?utm_source=rss_feed Fri, 15 Dec 2023 23:45:16 +0000 Details have emerged of a judicial decision by a Beijing court in 2020 which upholds the rights of a transgender woman who was fired for being “absent” after she took time off to recover from gender reassignment surgery. The previously unknown details, which have reignited discussions about equal employment rights in China, were posted online by the Shanghai Federation Trade Unions on November 29. The case involves a transgender employee of the Chinese e-commerce platform Dangdang, surnamed Gao,... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3243608/blessing-china-court-lauds-rule-law-backs-transgender-staffer-fired-being-absent-while-leave?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3243608/blessing-china-court-lauds-rule-law-backs-transgender-staffer-fired-being-absent-while-leave?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 07 Dec 2023 10:00:10 +0000 One of my cousins once took part in a local gay tennis tournament. He wasn’t, and still isn’t, gay. He played doubles with a gay friend. He had a great time, played some awesome matches and can attest to never feeling unwelcome during the tournament because of his heterosexuality or pressured in any way to be otherwise. Most of us would not be surprised or outraged at this. It isn’t something to write home about. Taking part in such a tournament is, after all, about openness and inclusiveness,... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242689/open-and-inclusive-society-not-judging-ongoing-outrage-over-gay-games?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3242689/open-and-inclusive-society-not-judging-ongoing-outrage-over-gay-games?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 27 Nov 2023 01:30:14 +0000 Hong Kong government bodies appear to have backed away from promoting the international Gay Games event scheduled to be held in Asia for the first time this year. Four organisations, Brand Hong Kong, InvestHK, Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), are all listed as “supporting organisations” for the city event, but the Post has learned that they have done little to demonstrate their backing. The 11th Gay Games, which has been held every four years since... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3236427/are-hong-kong-government-agencies-giving-gay-games-cold-shoulder-authorities-stay-quiet-about-coming?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3236427/are-hong-kong-government-agencies-giving-gay-games-cold-shoulder-authorities-stay-quiet-about-coming?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 02 Oct 2023 02:00:20 +0000 When I read about the draft legal amendment to ban clothing and symbols that are “detrimental to the spirit” of the nation or “hurt the feelings” of the Chinese people, I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry. Part of the five-year legislative plan released by the National People’s Congress (NPC) Standing Committee, China’s top legislative body, the proposed amendment to the Public Security Administration Punishments Law could see offenders detained for up to 15 days and fined up to 5,000 yuan... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3234149/china-banning-clothes-hurt-national-feelings-would-be-stitch-too-far?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3234149/china-banning-clothes-hurt-national-feelings-would-be-stitch-too-far?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 12 Sep 2023 19:00:14 +0000 Wen Xinyu travelled to Thailand in June, planning a two-week holiday around Bangkok’s Pride parade. Instead, the 28-year-old stayed a month and a half, as her experience at the parade gave rise to discussions and discoveries in the Thai capital’s thriving LBGTQ community. LGBTQ people from China, frequently scorned and ostracised at home, are coming to Thailand in droves, drawn by the freedom to be themselves. When Wen walked along the parade on the streets in Bangkok, “I felt like I was in a... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3234091/chinas-lgbtq-tourists-flock-thailand-be-themselves-forget-all-upsetting-things?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/southeast-asia/article/3234091/chinas-lgbtq-tourists-flock-thailand-be-themselves-forget-all-upsetting-things?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 11 Sep 2023 06:34:07 +0000 Over the past few months, Wu Xiang, who works for an LGBTQ organisation in southern China, has received a series of phone calls from local police checking on his whereabouts. In one call, the police named a city he bought a train ticket to, and asked if he travelled there to attend an LGBTQ-themed event. He explained that, since he was not allowed to host any events, he had simply gone on holiday. “We are quite relaxed at the moment, with no strong goals,” he said. “We’ll do as much work as we... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3232920/chinese-lgbtq-organisations-find-creative-ways-survive-crackdown-and-closures?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3232920/chinese-lgbtq-organisations-find-creative-ways-survive-crackdown-and-closures?utm_source=rss_feed Sun, 03 Sep 2023 04:00:17 +0000 Germany’s “most China-friendly party” wants its government to stop meddling in Beijing’s “internal affairs” on human rights. It demands that Berlin’s ruling coalition stop “fuelling provocation” in the Taiwan Strait. It panned the new German China strategy as “an attempt to impose green-woke ideology and US geopolitical interests”. It wants closer ties with China instead of the “virtue signalling” of de-risking. It is also Germany’s fastest-growing political party, and its identity might be... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3232830/odd-couple-german-far-right-shows-unlikely-affinity-communist-china?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/3232830/odd-couple-german-far-right-shows-unlikely-affinity-communist-china?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 30 Aug 2023 16:00:18 +0000 Brian Leung Siu-fai says he thought long and hard about putting together the last episode of We Are Family, the groundbreaking LGBTQ show on Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) that was abruptly cancelled in July, after 17 years on the air. He didn’t want the final show on July 30 to be a pity party. Rather, he and five co-hosts were determined to keep the tone fun and positive. After all, Asia’s first non-heterosexual radio programme had always been about one thing: hope for a better world. It... https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3229603/host-hong-kongs-axed-lgbtq-radio-show-reflects-17-years-we-are-family-and-reveals-why-cancellation?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/entertainment/article/3229603/host-hong-kongs-axed-lgbtq-radio-show-reflects-17-years-we-are-family-and-reveals-why-cancellation?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Aug 2023 23:15:17 +0000 Hong Kong infectious disease experts and NGOs have said there is no need to panic over a spike in mpox cases in the city. “The risk of infection is low because the outbreak is small in scale and localised to high-risk groups, mainly men who have sex with men,” said Dr Leung Chi-chiu, an infectious diseases expert. His assurance came after the Centre for Health Protection (CHP) opened a dedicated mpox vaccination centre in Argyle Street, Mong Kok, on Thursday. Hong Kong to open dedicated mpox... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3229482/no-need-panic-hong-kong-mpox-vaccination-centre-opens-high-risk-groups-amid-call-calm-experts-ngos?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-environment/article/3229482/no-need-panic-hong-kong-mpox-vaccination-centre-opens-high-risk-groups-amid-call-calm-experts-ngos?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 01 Aug 2023 01:00:13 +0000 Hong Kong public broadcaster RTHK is pulling the plug on the city’s first and only LGBTQ radio programme after 17 years, a move some in the community have called a step backward. “We are going to experience a long winter for LGBTQ rights,” said Brian Leung Siu-fai, the long-time host of the late night show We Are Family, which aired from midnight to 2am every Sunday. The broadcaster gave no reasons for ending its long run from Sunday, with a spokesman telling the Post it was cancelled because of... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3229340/we-are-family-no-more-hong-kongs-only-lgbtq-radio-show-canned-after-17-years-step-backward-community?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3229340/we-are-family-no-more-hong-kongs-only-lgbtq-radio-show-canned-after-17-years-step-backward-community?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 29 Jul 2023 11:00:16 +0000 A tweet by Chinese consul general in Osaka Xue Jian earlier this week in which he described transgender people as being “deformed” has stirred controversy, with some commenting the post is discriminatory against sexual minorities. Xue tweeted in Japanese on Wednesday, “I don’t mean to discriminate against sexual minorities, but tampering with gender is a deformity, not the evolution of human civilisation.” The consul general also said “the absolute minority is effectively forcing us – the... https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3224418/chinese-diplomats-anti-lgbt-tweet-causes-stir-japan?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/asia/east-asia/article/3224418/chinese-diplomats-anti-lgbt-tweet-causes-stir-japan?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 17 Jun 2023 02:31:40 +0000 For years before my recent trip to Chengdu, friends from the mainland had told me that the Sichuan capital was also known colloquially as China’s “gay capital”. During my five days in the city, I saw plenty of hand-holding gay couples out in public, more than I would in Hong Kong. They could have easily gone unnoticed, given the lack of stares in a locality that was refreshingly unbothered. Unlike Britain’s own unofficial “gay capital” of Brighton, Chengdu does not boast extravagant displays of... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3223801/chinas-lgbt-community-doesnt-need-western-gay-pride?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3223801/chinas-lgbt-community-doesnt-need-western-gay-pride?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 13 Jun 2023 08:30:10 +0000 Taiwan’s legislature extended joint adoption rights to same-sex couples on Tuesday, marking another milestone in marriage equality on the island. The rights were an amendment to the same-sex marriage bill that passed its third reading in the Legislative Yuan without objection, according to local media reports. The changes mean the process for joint adoption is the same for same-sex couples as it is for heterosexual couples under the island’s civil code. Taiwan LGBT activists protest against... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3220776/taiwan-grants-joint-adoption-rights-same-sex-couples?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3220776/taiwan-grants-joint-adoption-rights-same-sex-couples?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 16 May 2023 22:00:23 +0000 This year’s Gay Games, to be hosted by Hong Kong, is expected to welcome over 30,000 participants and spectators to the city in November. Co-hosted with Guadalajara, Mexico, the 11th edition of the international multisport event and cultural gathering is heading to both Asia and Latin America for the first time in its 40-year history. And the organisers have promised that the sports featured “will really bring out Hong Kong” when the Games commence. “We have trail running making its debut,” Bon... https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3215173/gay-games-will-bring-out-hong-kong-no-government-funding-and-education-long-process?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/sport/hong-kong/article/3215173/gay-games-will-bring-out-hong-kong-no-government-funding-and-education-long-process?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 28 Mar 2023 15:30:51 +0000 Two students at one of China’s top universities disciplined last year for distributing rainbow flags on campus have filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Education, demanding it review the penalty. The Tsinghua University students, who would only be identified by their surnames Huang and Li, filed the petition with the Beijing No 1 Intermediate People’s Court on Monday, Huang said. The two women were given formal disciplinary warnings by Tsinghua’s student affairs office in July last year... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3211077/chinese-university-students-disciplined-over-rainbow-flags-file-lawsuit-against-education-ministry?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3211077/chinese-university-students-disciplined-over-rainbow-flags-file-lawsuit-against-education-ministry?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 22 Feb 2023 08:30:08 +0000 A video in which a man “comes out” and announces that his wife is a lesbian to his family during a Lunar New Year’s Eve dinner has unexpectedly gone viral during the holiday season in China. Posted on January 23 on Bilibili, a popular Chinese video-sharing platform, the video is entitled “38-year-old little uncle comes out in public on New Year’s Eve”. In the video, which is filmed in a small town in Sichuan province in southwestern China, a man in a white jumper is seen sitting with his two... https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3208991/so-cute-2-million-marvel-online-accepting-chinese-family-gay-uncle-comes-out-and-announces-wife?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3208991/so-cute-2-million-marvel-online-accepting-chinese-family-gay-uncle-comes-out-and-announces-wife?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Feb 2023 10:00:12 +0000 Hong Kong’s top court handed down a landmark ruling on Monday finding that authorities’ refusal to allow two transgender people to use their preferred gender on their identity cards without undergoing full reassignment surgery had breached their rights. The ruling, the result of a years-long legal battle, meant the government could no longer impose such surgical procedures – often considered risky by the transgender community – as a precondition for wider gender recognition. “I can live like any... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3209248/top-hong-kong-court-says-landmark-ruling-government-breached-rights-2-transgender-men-preventing?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3209248/top-hong-kong-court-says-landmark-ruling-government-breached-rights-2-transgender-men-preventing?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 06 Feb 2023 08:44:50 +0000 There is a row brewing between Hong Kong’s arch-conservative lawmaker Junius Ho Kwan-yiu and one of the most prolific letter writers to the South China Morning Post, Mark Peaker. In one of his many letters to this newspaper now collected in a book titled Peaker of the Peak, the former banker told Ho to shut up and apologise over his vocal opposition to LGBTQ rights. Ho was incensed and co-wrote a long opinion piece in China Daily rebutting Peaker, citing Confucianism and Confucian values. Let me... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3200014/would-confucius-condone-same-sex-marriage?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3200014/would-confucius-condone-same-sex-marriage?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 17 Nov 2022 13:31:55 +0000 Stella Chen Stella Chen Cuba’s legalisation of same-sex marriage and “altruistic” surrogacy has revived debate half a world away in a major trading and ideological partner, China. In a national referendum last week, Cubans voted overwhelmingly in favour of a “family code” allowing non-commercial surrogate pregnancies and same-sex couples to marry. The code also introduces measures against gender-based violence, increases the rights of women, the elderly and children, and encourages families to share the housework load... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3194582/how-chinese-internet-saw-cubas-vote-gay-marriage-surrogacy?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3194582/how-chinese-internet-saw-cubas-vote-gay-marriage-surrogacy?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 03 Oct 2022 01:00:14 +0000 A human rights activist has lost an appeal against a Hong Kong court’s refusal to recognise his New York-registered same-sex marriage. Three appeal judges on Wednesday dismissed Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit’s argument that same-sex couples had the same right to marriage as heterosexual couples. The Court of Appeal ruled that the city’s mini-constitution granted access to the institution of marriage only to opposite sex partners and that the government had no obligation to recognise same-sex unions. The... https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3190065/court-appeal-against-hong-kong-refusal-recognise?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/law-and-crime/article/3190065/court-appeal-against-hong-kong-refusal-recognise?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Aug 2022 13:57:13 +0000 Netflix documentary The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson (2017), directed by David France, chronicles the life of the eponymous American transgender activist, as well as trans activist Victoria Cruz’s investigation into her suspicious 1992 death, ruled a suicide by police. It also highlights the continued violent death toll among trans women today, and the community’s struggles to get justice. Vincy Chan Wan-hei, Hong Kong non-binary transgender musician, illustrator and founder of the Gamut... https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3189848/heartbreaking-story-transgender-activist-changed?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/arts-music/article/3189848/heartbreaking-story-transgender-activist-changed?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 24 Aug 2022 08:30:15 +0000 A 17-year-old student recently filed a complaint to Hong Kong’s equality watchdog, arguing that his school’s restrictive hair rules for boys constituted sex discrimination. His ongoing campaign – to “free the hair” for boys – has drawn much attention, as well as flak from certain figures in Hong Kong politics. Let me be blunt here. It’s 2022, and there is no place for rigid, unfettered gender norms in any civilised society. It shouldn’t be controversial to say that individuals possess core... https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3189295/rigid-gender-norms-have-no-place-modern-diverse-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3189295/rigid-gender-norms-have-no-place-modern-diverse-hong-kong?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 18 Aug 2022 22:45:19 +0000 Chinese human rights lawyer Chang Weiping was tried behind closed doors on a subversion charge in Shaanxi province on Tuesday, with his family barred from attending the hearing. The 38-year-old lawyer was accused of subversion of state power, according to a trial notice issued by the Baoji Municipality Intermediate People Court last week. Chang’s case was heard at Fengxian People’s Court in the northwest of the country. His two lawyers were asked to sign confidentiality agreements that... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3186681/chinese-human-rights-lawyer-chang-weiping-closed-door-trial?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3186681/chinese-human-rights-lawyer-chang-weiping-closed-door-trial?utm_source=rss_feed Tue, 26 Jul 2022 14:23:17 +0000 Two female students at China’s prestigious Tsinghua University who were disciplined last week for distributing rainbow flags on campus are petitioning to have the penalty overturned, despite facing a risk of dismissal. Christine Huang and another student, who did not want to be identified, were issued with warning letters on Friday and Sunday, respectively, by Tsinghua’s student affairs office for distributing unauthorised promotional material on campus. According to Huang, they left 10 rainbow... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3185842/chinese-students-vow-fight-penalty-distributing-rainbow-flags?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3185842/chinese-students-vow-fight-penalty-distributing-rainbow-flags?utm_source=rss_feed Wed, 20 Jul 2022 01:00:19 +0000 After Gillian* turned 18, she made a hospital appointment as soon as she could. It was 2017, and China had just updated its medical regulations to allow those aged 18 and over to be formally diagnosed with gender dysphoria – the first step in obtaining gender affirmation surgery. For Gillian, a transgender woman, the ultimate goal was to officially change the gender on her ID card – a step she deemed necessary to live her life authentically. The surgery was a prerequisite for changing her ID... https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3182853/china-relaxes-barriers-transgender-health-family-approval?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/china/politics/article/3182853/china-relaxes-barriers-transgender-health-family-approval?utm_source=rss_feed Thu, 23 Jun 2022 23:00:20 +0000 Walt Disney Co has been unable to obtain permission to show its new Pixar movie Lightyear in 14 Middle Eastern and Asian countries, a source said on Monday, and the animated film appeared unlikely to open in China, the world’s largest movie market. A Lightyear producer said that authorities in China had asked for cuts to the movie, which Disney declined to make, and she assumed the movie would not open there either. The animated film depicts a same-sex couple who share a brief kiss, which... https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3181572/pixars-lightyear-wont-show-some-countries-over-same?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3181572/pixars-lightyear-wont-show-some-countries-over-same?utm_source=rss_feed Mon, 13 Jun 2022 23:32:16 +0000 Feel strongly about this letter, or any other aspects of the news? Share your views by emailing us your Letter to the Editor at letters@scmp.com or filling in this Google form. Submissions should not exceed 400 words, and must include your full name and address, plus a phone number for verification. This month marks the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ) Pride Month, a time to celebrate the power of the LGBTQ community and advocate for their rights. Hong Kong has several... https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3181014/how-have-positive-discussions-about-lgbtq-pride-children?utm_source=rss_feed https://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/3181014/how-have-positive-discussions-about-lgbtq-pride-children?utm_source=rss_feed Sat, 11 Jun 2022 06:30:22 +0000