one thing most any leftist will say about china despite supporting the country is that they're a very traditionalist culture, and so LGBTQ issues in particular are a blight on leftist westerner's otherwise positive view of china.
upon scrolling thru rednote, i think that's bullshit now. i really don't think you're worse off being LGBTQ in china than you are in america. yeah, you can't get married, but that right is under constant threat of being taken away in the US anyway and let's be real- it probably will be taken away. meanwhile, china is making progress on that front, the US wants to regress.
i saw multiple LGBTQ people on rednote. i saw a lesbian couple, one of the girls even said "LGBT is completely normal in china now, especially in the cities. even the older generations who might not accept it mind their own business". can that be said about america? how many queer people here have been accosted by some boomer who couldn't mind their own business? i saw the gayest fucking dude i've ever seen in my life (that's a compliment). he was also wearing makeup and sassily singing along with destiny's child. completely comfortable in his skin and with his identity, and while all of the comments and his speaking were in mandarin that i couldn't understand, you can tell by the vibe it was all positive. meanwhile in progressive america, if you're a guy who wants to put on makeup and go live on tiktok you're gonna face all sorts of homophobia and bigotry.
one of the few things western liberals could really say about china, that even those of us who are left wing and pro china thought to be at least somewhat true, appears to just straight up not be true.
While there's no gay marriage, China does have civil unions. Which gives gay people equal rights in the eyes of the law. It was China's way to placate both sides. The conservatives and the liberals. Imagine, a country that works with and negotiates with its citizens to try to improve the outcome for everyone. Crazy right?
https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-08-09/LGBT-couples-in-China-file-for-voluntary-guardianship-J15eC8QcrC/index.html
I think it's worth pointing out that the same critiques that American LGBT advocates levied at civil unions in the states (which were common pre-Obergfell) are applicable to China. Namely that it's still a pointless othering and that the goal should be full equality.
The problem with your argument is when China tries to stop othering as you noted, everyone says China bad. Just look at the reporting on Xinjiang. If USA is concerned about how China does things, fix it in your own country first. Lead by example. Or as China does, they'll do it there way.
Gay marriage is legal in my country. I don't know what the point you're making is.
With issues on it's actual legality, people protesting against it, and bills that try to reverse it. What you're not seeing is what Asian countries strive for. This isn't a China thing here, but an east vs west. Asian countries believe in societal peace above all else, where as western nations believe in individuality at all costs. China's figured out a solution for them that keeps societal peace and allow people to get the legal rights they deserve. The west has given the people the wording for freedom, with constant societal strife.
So, lead by example. Prove your ideas are right by creating peace in the change. Otherwise, you'll never understand why China stands against the west.
For now until a panel of unelected lifetime appointees decides otherwise.
That's a great read! In terms of the rights conveyed to the union, are they functionally the same under the law?
Yes and actually gives some additional benefits. China is all about wording. So the censorship people think China has isn't what they think it is.