Members of Rainbow Group Royce Freeman Broncos Jersey , an LGBT organization set up without official approval at Sun Yat-Sen University in 2012, unfold a rainbow flag in front of the Guangdong Science Center on May 17. Photo: Courtesy of Ah Shan Homosexuality is a sensitive word at Chinese universities. Even though these institutions are the frontline of gay liberation in China, administrators attempt to conceal any mention of LGBT issues. On campuses, many LGBT groups have found they can't register as legitimate societies. They try to maintain their presence, spread knowledge and seek equality all without any legal standing.
In order to survive and develop, they must be inventive and cautious.Over the past two years, they have written to more than 100 presidents of leading Chinese universities Royce Freeman Kids Jersey , calling on them to show their concern for gay students and to lift the restrictions LGBT societies face on campuses. Even though they have received no replies, they haven't stopped.
They are student volunteers with the Tongai (which can be translated to "same-sex love" in English) Network, an LGBT rights organization based in Changsha, Central China's Hunan Province.
Xiang Xiaohan, leader of the organization, said that they plan to send letters to the presidents again on National Teacher's Day this year. "Without the recognition of universities, the campus groups are illegal Royce Freeman Youth Jersey , and their activities can be easily restricted," Xiang told the Global Times.
There are no rules explicitly banning LGBT organizations from campuses, but administrators rarely allow them to register and acquire legal standing.
Back in 2006, Sun Yat-Sen University (SYSU) in Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province approved the registration of the first LGBT students' union on the Chinese mainland. But the university revoked its status the following year.
Even without official approval, however, many LGBT groups have been established on campuses.
"The presence of these societies on campuses is significant as college students will be backbone of the country after graduation Royce Freeman Womens Jersey ," Xiang said. He believes if students have a positive view of LGBT people, then this will have a huge impact on society's views in the long run.
Registration roadblock
But the societies' attempts to hold events often meet barriers due to their "illegal identity."
"Without registering, we are not allowed to put up banners, booths or posters on campus like other societies," Shen Jiayi, director of HOMOSCU, a homosexual association at a university in Chengdu Authentic Royce Freeman Jersey , Southwest China's Sichuan Province told the Global Times.
According to him, all societies at his university need to register at the Students' Association Union which is under the direct guidance of the university's Communist Youth League Committee. One of the necessary conditions for registering is acquiring a faculty member to be the group's "instructor."
"We failed to find a teacher who would be our instructor. Besides, even if we meet all the conditions, we cannot obtain the youth league's approval," Shen said.
The leader of the Rainbow Group that was set up without official approval at SYSU in 2012, who prefers to be called Sun, her English name Royce Freeman Jersey , said they have also met obstructions. As an "illegal" group, it's hard for them to rent venues to hold activities, she revealed.
Geng Le, CEO of China's largest gay website danlan.org and the gay social networking app "Blued," said the absence of government statements regarding LGBT people contributes to the situation facing LGBT associations on campuses.
"I have talked with government officials who said it's too early for the government to publicly recognize these groups as society's homophobia is still too ingrained," he noted.
Off campuses, the civil affairs authorities also have not allowed any LGBT organizations to officially register as NGOs. Xiang tried to register the Tongai Network last year. But the civil affairs department of Hunan Province rejected his application saying "there is no legal basis for establishing a homosexual organization," and "homosexuality is against traditional Chinese culture and morality."
Geng said his website was repeatedly forced to close down by police until he shook hands with Chinese premier Li Keqiang at an AIDS-prevention meeting in December in Beijing.
Fearful of the possible reactions of student's parents, public opinion and social stability, universities cannot break this taboo, he added.
Recently, during a graduation ceremony at SYSU, university president Luo Jun embraced Wan Qing, a 22-year-old lesbian who came out at the ceremony.
The president's move impressed the LGBT community in China#7# but the university quickly issued a ban forbidding students from discussing the case.
Campus abuse
Wan Qing is lucky that the head of her university was willing to show his support, but the same is not for some students at other universities.
Xiaowei, 20, a junior at a university in Northeast China, was the president of his school's student union. But when his homosexuality was discovered by university officials, he was expelled from the Party. The university also informed his parents, who had been in the dark about Xiaowei's sexuality#8# according to a 2012 report by the Aibai Culture and Education Center, a non-profit organization that helps LGBT people.
He Miao, a student leader at Peking University in Beijing, had a similar experience. He came out and was dismissed from his post at the student union and the administration even threatened to force him to quit school, according to an article published December last year by Cijian, the fortnightly newspaper of the Peking University Student Union. Eventually, He cut his links to the LGBT group#9# the article said.
Geng said university administrators often hold old-fashioned and backward views.