Beijing LGBT Center
{{Infobox organization
| name = Beijing LGBT Center
| native_name = 北京同志中心
| image = File:Beijing LGBT Center - office with logo.jpg
| image_size = 225
| caption = The offices of the Beijing LGBT Center in 2014
| map =
| formation = {{start date and age|2008|02|14}}{{cite web |url=http://en.bjlgbtcenter.org.cn/s--195.html |title=发展历程 |trans-title=development path |website=Beijing LGBT Center |language=zh |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210320224450/http://en.bjlgbtcenter.org.cn/s--195.html|archive-date = 2021-03-20|url-status=dead }}
| founding_location =
| dissolved = {{end date and age|2023|05|15}}
| purpose = LGBT rights, research, and mental health support
| headquarters = Beijing, China
| coordinates = {{coord|39|54|21.1|N|116|28|19.6|E|format=dms|display=title,inline|type:landmark_region:CN-BJ}}
| services = advocacy, service referrals, crisis hotlines
| leader_title = Executive director
| leader_name = Xin Ying{{Cite web|author=Pamela Boykoff, Shen Lu and Serena Dong|title=Gay subway proposal an Internet hit in China|url=https://www.cnn.com/2015/10/01/asia/china-gay-proposal/index.html|access-date=2020-11-22|website=CNN|date=October 2015}}
| website = bjlgbtcenter.org.cn{{Dead link|url=http://www.bjlgbtcenter.org.cn/|date=May 2023}}
}}
The Beijing LGBT Center ({{Lang-zh|c=北京同志中心|p=}}; also known as 北同文化) was a non-profit organization dedicated to improving the living environment for LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) people in China. The group was founded in 2008, and until its closure in 2023, provided resources such as low-cost mental health counseling, a directory of LGBTQ-friendly healthcare providers, and a crisis hotline for transgender individuals.{{Cite web|url=https://law.yale.edu/yls-today/news/tsai-center-facilitates-collaborative-research-lgbt-affirmative-therapy-china|title=Tsai Center Facilitates Collaborative Research on LGBT-Affirmative Therapy in China|website=law.yale.edu|date=5 April 2018 |language=en|access-date=2019-06-06}}{{Cite web|url=http://www.chinadevelopmentbrief.cn/news/national-transgender-hotline-launched-in-china/|title=National transgender hotline launched in China|website=China Development Brief|language=en-US|access-date=2019-06-15}} In addition to its advocacy work, the center's offices acted as a community meeting space with film screenings and discussion groups.{{Cite web |date=2011-10-07 |title=The Beijing LGBT Center |url=http://en2020.cdb.org.cn/reports/the-beijing-lgbt-center/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230515211759/http://en2020.cdb.org.cn/reports/the-beijing-lgbt-center/ |archive-date=2023-05-15 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=China Development Brief |language=en-US|url-status=live}}
History
The Beijing LGBT Center was founded in 2008 as a cultural outlet for various LGBT service organizations based in Beijing. In its early days, its primary mission was to organize cultural activities, aiming to address a perceived lack of stability and unity within the local LGBT community. Following the departure of its original sponsors, the center hired new staff and transitioned into an independent organization with a renewed focus on advocating for LGBT rights.File:Beijing LGBT center - public space bookshelves.jpgOne of the center's first advocacy initiatives involved educating psychologists in China about conversion therapy.{{Cite web |last=Stroude |first=Will |date=2020-01-13 |title='Being LGBTQ in China is difficult - but more and more young people are bravely coming out' |url=https://www.attitude.co.uk/life/travel/being-lgbtq-in-china-is-difficult-but-more-and-more-young-people-are-bravely-coming-out-300555/ |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Attitude |language=en-GB}} In 2014, the center helped Yang Teng, a gay man, prepare a case against a clinic in Chongqing that had provided him with conversion therapy that included electroshock therapy. The case was successful, and a local court in Beijing eventually declared conversion therapy for "curing" gay people to be illegal altogether.{{Cite web|url=http://www.sixthtone.com/news/861/lgbt-mental-health-closet-prejudice-remains|title=LGBT Mental Health: Closet Prejudice Remains|last=Qian|first=Jinghua|date=19 May 2016|website=Sixth Tone|language=en|access-date=2019-06-15}}{{Cite web |date=2016-05-30 |title=Chinese transgender man fights for job equality |url=https://apnews.com/article/-----c959a0da005441bca92325096b9306d2 |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=AP News |language=en}} Still, the practice of conversion therapy persisted in China. Center employee John Shen and others later went undercover for a 2015 episode of Channel 4's Unreported World, revealing that hospitals continued to provide electroconvulsive conversion therapy.{{Cite web|url=http://www.elleuk.com/now-trending/watch-unreported-world-chinas-gay-shock-therapy|title=Why We All Need To Watch Unreported World: China's Gay Shock Therapy|last=Casparis|first=Lena de|date=2015-10-08|website=ELLE|language=en-GB|access-date=2019-06-15}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/oct/08/chinese-hospitals-still-offering-gay-cure-therapy-documentary-reveals|title=Chinese hospitals still offering gay 'cure' therapy, film reveals|last1=Graham-Harrison|first1=Emma|date=2015-10-08|work=The Guardian|access-date=2019-06-15|last2=Connaire|first2=Shaunagh|language=en-GB|issn=0261-3077}}
The center's research efforts included the administration of the Chinese Gender and Sexual Minorities Psychological Health Survey and a 2017 survey with Peking University on the mental health of transgender Chinese people.{{Cite web |last=Zhang |first=Phoebe |date=2021-06-25 |title=China's LGBT community at higher risk of depression and suicide, report finds |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3138728/chinas-lgbt-community-five-times-more-likely |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210707024410/https://www.scmp.com/news/people-culture/gender-diversity/article/3138728/chinas-lgbt-community-five-times-more-likely |archive-date=2021-07-07 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}}{{Cite web |date=2019-05-10 |title=China's transgender people deprived of vital medical care, Amnesty says |url=https://www.scmp.com/news/china/society/article/3009763/chinas-transgender-people-being-deprived-vital-medical-care |access-date=2019-06-06 |website=South China Morning Post |language=en}} Other forms of activism organized by the center were meant to replace pride parades, which were frequently forbidden by authorities. One example was a protest of Weibo's planned ban on gay content, in which volunteers wearing blindfolds and t-shirts reading "I am gay" stood with their arms out and solicited hugs from passersby.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2018/04/23/lgbt-activists-ask-strangers-for-hugs-in-china-protest-at-weibo-censorship/|title=LGBT activists ask strangers for hugs in China protest at Weibo censorship – PinkNews · PinkNews|website=www.pinknews.co.uk|date=23 April 2018|access-date=2019-06-06}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-gay-pride-china-idUSKCN1II1O1|title=China's LGBT community treads cautiously amid intolerance|date=2018-05-21|work=Reuters|access-date=2019-06-06|language=en}} The center also partnered with photographer Teo Butturini to create Humans of New York-style portraits of LGBT individuals living in China.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/in-sight/wp/2016/10/10/poignant-portraits-show-what-its-like-being-lgbt-in-china/?noredirect=on|title=Poignant portraits show what it's like being LGBT in China|last=Dickerman|first=Kenneth|date=10 October 2016|newspaper=Washington Post|access-date=5 June 2019}}
Crackdown and closure
The Beijing LGBT Center had faced ongoing challenges to stay open, with obstacles arising from both funding limitations and political pressure. LGBTQ groups cannot register as non-governmental organizations in China, making it difficult to obtain government approval for events and secure external funding. To overcome its financial hurdles, the center organized fundraising events at local bars and received direct financial support from the Los Angeles LGBT Center. Amidst a crackdown on organizations with names containing "homosexuality", "association", and "rights", the center changed its official Chinese name to the portmanteau "北同文化" ({{literal translation|Beijing homo-culture}}) in 2021.{{Cite web |last=二兩 |title=為了活下去，中國LGBTQ組織改名、商業化、接軌主流價值觀 |url=https://theinitium.com/article/20211108-mainland-lgbt-ngo/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211113143117/https://theinitium.com/article/20211108-mainland-lgbt-ngo/ |archive-date=2021-11-13 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Initium Media |date=8 November 2021 |language=zh-Hant|url-status=live}}{{Cite web |last=Yuan |first=Shawn |title=LGBTQ in China lament 'dark day' after social media crackdown |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/7/13/china-lgbtq |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Al Jazeera |language=}} The center also faced pressure from its landlords and was forced to relocate multiple times.{{Cite web |last=Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |date=2013-10-11 |title=China: Situation and treatment of sexual minorities, particularly in Guangdong and Fujian; state protection and support services (2011-February 2013) |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/527a1adc4.html |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=Refworld |language=en}}
In May 2023, the Beijing LGBT Center announced on its Weibo account that it will be suspending operations after 15 years, citing "forces beyond control" as the only reason.{{Cite news |date=2023-05-16 |title=Chinese LGBTQ Center Closes Down Abruptly Amid Xi Clampdown |language= |work=Bloomberg News |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-16/chinese-lgbtq-center-closes-down-abruptly-amid-xi-clampdown |access-date=2023-05-16 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230516052517/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-16/chinese-lgbtq-center-closes-down-abruptly-amid-xi-clampdown |archive-date=2023-05-16}}{{Cite web |date=2023-05-15 |title=各位亲爱的伙伴... - @北同官微的微博 |url=https://weibo.com/1501416452/N0JWK2199 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20230515195002/https://weibo.com/1501416452/N0JWK2199 |archive-date=2023-05-15 |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=微博 |language=zh-Hans}} This closure was unexpected and came only a week after the center had published an article commemorating its 15 years of dedicated work.{{Cite web |last=Wu |first=Huizhong |date=2023-05-16 |title=Beijing LGBT Center shuttered as crackdown grows in China |url=https://apnews.com/article/china-beijing-lgbt-center-shutdown-a5643c680e1faf5c8a7a7d9bdd627d6f |access-date=2023-05-16 |website=AP News |language=en}} ShanghaiPRIDE, one of China’s longest running gay pride groups, and university LGBT spaces across China have faced similar abrupt shutdowns since 2020.{{Cite news |last1=Goh |first1=Brenda |last2=Tham |first2=Engen |date=2020-08-14 |title=Chinese LGBT group ShanghaiPRIDE halts work to 'protect safety' |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-gay-pride-idUSKCN25A141 |access-date=2023-05-15}}{{Cite web |last1=Gan |first1=Nectar |last2=Xiong |first2=Yong |date=2021-07-07 |title=WeChat deletes dozens of university LGBT accounts in China |url=https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/07/business/china-lgbt-wechat-censorship-intl-hnk/index.html |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=CNN Business |language=en}}
See also
{{Portal|China|LGBTQ}}