In China's first-ever gay rights case, supporters see success in failing
For the first time in China鈥檚 legal history, a same-sex couple sued the government for the right to marry.
Sun Wenlin, 27, from the Hunan province, sued a civil affairs bureau in December after being denied the right to marry his 37-year-old boyfriend Hu Mingliang last June. But after a brief, three hour hearing Wednesday, Sun鈥檚 request was denied.听
鈥淭he revelant regulations and law clearly stated the subject of marriage refers to a man and a woman who meet the legal conditions of marriage,鈥� the court said in a statement. 鈥淪un Wenlin and Hu Mingliang are both men, therefore their application doesn鈥檛 comply with the marriage regulations and law.鈥澛�
But Sun argues that China鈥檚 marriage law does not specifically prohibit same-sex marriage. Instead of defining marriage as one man and one woman, Sun says the court is misreading the law: It simply requires a consensus from both sides.
Sun assures supporters that he will not give up. 鈥淲e will ,鈥� Sun tells the Guardian. 鈥淚 think it is worthwhile. It catches people鈥檚 attention and it will help our opinions spread. What we are trying to achieve is freedom and equality.鈥�
And gay-rights activists agree: Every public appeal for gay rights counts.
鈥淥ur government loves going with the tide,鈥� PFLAG China founder Ah Qiang tells Vice News. 鈥淚f there is enough of a media wave and people 鈥� are demanding it, there will be politicians working on it. There seems to be .鈥澛�
鈥淚f we win the case, it would be an unprecedented achievement for China鈥檚 LGBT community,鈥� Sun told The Los Angeles Times before the hearing. 鈥淚f we lose the case, it鈥檚 still better than if we did nothing. If you don鈥檛 knock on the door, the door will be closed to you forever. But once you knock on the door, you can knock on it for a second and third time, and .鈥�
Homosexuality was illegal in China until 1997 and then defined as a mental illness until 2001. Despite now being legal, same-sex relationships are still widely unaccepted in Chinese society. According to a 2015 Pew survey, say homosexuality is morally unacceptable. And because of the wide disapproval, local media reports that "fake marriages" (between a gay man and lesbian) are common in China, .听
鈥淣ot marrying and having a kid is seen as abnormal by parents,鈥� Wang Hijun, a lawyer from Hunan Province tells Vice. 鈥淭here are also still conservative opinions 鈥� people who believe that being gay is like being a psychopath, .鈥�
The statistics on homosexuality in China vary within the country鈥檚 population of 1.3 billion. According to China鈥檚 health department in 2004, one in every 130 Chinese people are gay. But according to researcher Zhang Beichuan, this figure is a gross underestimate, with the true number of Chinese gays coming closer to at least .
But for Sun, numbers are not what matters.
鈥淓ven if we were the only gay couple in the world, 鈥� Sun tells CNN. 鈥淚t鈥檚 the basic human right and I ought to enjoy it.鈥�
