Gay leap forward – A work in progress

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By CGTN's Cao Xi

It was only 20 years ago that being gay was decriminalized in China. And while the past two decades have brought change and progress for the LGBT community, China’s “Gay Leap Forward” is still very much an ongoing process.

Among those who are striving to gain acceptance – for himself as a gay man and for the wider gay community – is Ah Shan.

Now in his early sixties, he is remarkably frank about his early experiences.

“At primary school I was attracted to a boy, you know, living next door. At that time, anything related to homosexuality was very negative,” he explains.

A firm believer that education is crucial to making gay people better understood, Ah never hides who he is.

“I want them to see the real person. So sometimes I don’t say a word. And people say: ‘This old guy, he’s also gay.’ I think that’s very important. I think it’s a very interesting story for those people.”

Ah Shan previously served as chairman of a gay rights advocacy group. They published a book in Hong Kong illustrating the life and status of gay people in China.

Ah Shan explains more about his latest book project. /CGTN Photo

In recent years, he has been working on a new project – an oral history of the gay community in his native Guangzhou. He hopes this new book will help the general public to gain a better understanding of what it is to be gay.

But times are changing. And attitudes are changing, too.

“Our parents came to accept us,” says one young woman involved in a lesbian relationship. “So the people around us… are really becoming better and more tolerant. On the other hand, I think the government is changing as well. Slowly, but we can see it. But I think it’s still a long way to achieve what we really need.”

Rediscovering China is a 30-minute feature programme offering in-depth reports on the major issues facing China today. It airs on Sunday at 10.30 a.m. BJT (02.30 GMT), with a rebroadcast at 11.30 p.m. (15.30 GMT), as well as on Monday at 8.30 a.m. (00.30 GMT) and Friday at 1.30 p.m. (05.30 GMT).