More than half of citizens in China believe LGBTQ+ people should be treated with dignity, which flies in the face of some of the country’s restrictive laws.

Responding to a survey on attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people in China, 53 per cent said queer people should be accepted in society. A similar number felt same-sex couples should be able to marry, while 46 per cent said they would personally attend a same-sex wedding. 48 per cent believed gay couples would make capable parents.

Published by the Williams Institute at the UCLA School of Law, the study also showed that respondents who knew an LGBTQ+ person were more likely to show support for the community. 

Sixty-two per cent of those surveyed said LGBTQ+ people should be treated fairly at work, and 68 per cent felt the government should improve protections for queer students.

Ilan Meyer, the Williams Institute’s distinguished senior scholar of public policy and the study’s lead author, highlighted the disparity between public opinion and Chinese law. 

“Little is known about the general Chinese public’s view of LGBTQ+ people and issues,” Meyer said. “This study shows evidence of high approval of LGBTQ+ rights and protections among an influential segment of the population, which may impact attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people over all.”

According to the study, at least 70 per cent of Chinese people know at least one person who is out as LGBTQ+, while 47 per cent know at least two.

The state of LGBTQ+ rights in China

Because of censorship laws imposed by the Chinese Communist Party, not much is known about public opinion regarding LGTBQ+ people, but tracking website Equaldex ranks it 58th out of 197 countries when it comes to queer rights.

Homosexuality has been legal since 1997, after the country updated its penal code. However, same-sex marriage is still illegal, and there are virtually no protections for LGBTQ+ people. 

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Same-sex couples have been able to apply for a “guardianship appointment” since 2017, which affords them certain rights to share assets and inheritance, but they are not allowed to adopt.

Trans citizens are only permitted to change their gender after undergoing gender-reassignment surgery. Gender-affirming care is only permitted for people over the age of 18, and they must have been diagnosed with gender dysphoria, have applied for gender-reassignment surgery for at least five years, have no criminal record and be unmarried.

While this means China is nowhere near the most repressive country for queer people, it’s worth noting that last month at least 30 people were arrested for writing LGBTQ+ erotica.