World News

22056 readers

56 users here now

Breaking news from around the world.

News that is American but has an international facet may also be posted here.

Guidelines for submissions:

Where possible, post the original source of information.
- If there is a paywall, you can use alternative sources or provide an archive.today, 12ft.io, etc. link in the body.
Do not editorialize titles. Preserve the original title when possible; edits for clarity are fine.
Do not post ragebait or shock stories. These will be removed.
Do not post tabloid or blogspam stories. These will be removed.
Social media should be a source of last resort.

These guidelines will be enforced on a know-it-when-I-see-it basis.

For US News, see the US News community.

This community's icon was made by Aaron Schneider, under the CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0 license.

founded 2 years ago

MODERATORS

131

‘It’s difficult to survive’: China’s LGBTQ+ advocates face jail and forced confession (www.theguardian.com)

submitted 9 months ago by tardigrada@beehaw.org to c/news@beehaw.org

30 comments fedilink hide all child comments

In recent years, China’s LGBTQ+ community has been swept up in the Chinese Communist party’s broader crackdown on civil society and freedom of expression. In May 2023, a well known LGBTQ+ advocacy group in Beijing announced it was closing due to “unavoidable” circumstances. Last February, two university students filed a lawsuit against the education ministry after they were punished for distributing rainbow flags on campus.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments

[–] Zworf@beehaw.org 41 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (11 children)

Yeah Naomi Wu was also arrested and "silcenced" last year (she's no longer allowed to publish anything even stuff not critical of the CCP). https://skepchick.org/2023/08/maker-naomi-wu-is-silenced-by-chinese-authorities-and-why-i-blame-elon-musk/

She is also feminist and lesbian and has an Uyghur girlfriend, which was blatantly published by Vice after promises not to do so, which suddenly put her on the radar 😭 It's a shame because I have big respect for her and her content.

I don't really understand why China is so against LGBTQ+, I don't think they have any religious basis for this. But I assume it has a lot to do with their demography crisis (rapidly falling birth numbers). Even though it seems counterproductive to me, them being against LGBTQ+ does not really make it disappear, I think facilitating IVF for happy LGBT couples to raise loved children would be more productive. But anyway...

[–] Newtra@pawb.social 13 points 9 months ago (2 children)

Nooooo! Not Naomi!

I don't really follow her content, but I love her existence and all her efforts towards education and awareness on many topics.

I hope she's able to find freedom again somehow.

[–] Zworf@beehaw.org 8 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 children)

Well she is in freedom, she was released. She's just not free to publish. So she is well but not able to do what she loved.

[–] DdCno1@beehaw.org 9 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I wouldn't call it freedom. If she's treated like other "security threats" within China, then she does not have freedom to travel. She's likely limited to her city at most, perhaps even just a small area within and has to regularly report to local police. Think of it like probation for people convicted of actual crimes in the West, except without court order, for an unlimited amount of time and with the constant threat of being tortured/disappeared looming over her head. If Xi ever feels like tightening the thumb screws on the Chinese people even further, she'd probably feel the effects before many others. All of this comes with social consequences, as many friends and business partners will be scared away.

[–] SinAdjetivos@beehaw.org 3 points 9 months ago

So... Just like probation?

load more comments (8 replies)