Cities & Towns

In 2007, the city government of Shanghai was reported to be preparing new regulations barring landlords from renting rooms to same-sex and unmarried opposite-sex couples [R1.3].

In 2006, Regulations adopted by the national governnment prohibit job discrimination on the basis of HIV status [R1.2].

On 22 March 1997, police stormed into Guangzhou's only gay and lesbian gathering place, and ordered all the luckless patrons who happened to be dancing at that moment to assume a squatting position in the middle of the dance floor. Unconfirmed reports indicated that 20 or so people would be detained for 15 days on charges of hooliganism [R1.1].

Schools & Universities

In March 1999, the Tongzhi Culture Society, the first homosexual students group to be registered in a local tertiary institute and formally recognised by the university's students union, was reportedly targeted by fellow students who have attacked it in posters and dumped its literature in rubbish bins [R2.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In August 2010, it was reported that a Chinese court would hear a discrimination case brought by a man who claimed he was fired from his job because he is HIV-positive ­ likely a first-of-its-kind lawsuit in the country [R3.2].

In July 2010, a Beijing court blocked Wang Zizheng from suing a Red Cross centre for discrimination after he was rejected as a blood donor because of his sexuality [R3.1].

National

In November 2009, it was reported that transsexuals have been tying the marital knot for more than 10 years. A transgender marriage in southwestern Sichuan province even received sympathetic treatment by state media [R1.3].

In June 2009, the Chinese government was reportedly setting up the nation's first guidelines for sex-reassignment surgery, which may require candidates to gain police approval before undergoing the procedure [R1.2].

In 2001, transsexuality in China was barely acknowledged, even within the scientific community.

Sex change surgery is neither legal nor illegal, and there are no national regulations. Only a small number of reputable surgeons in half a dozen Chinese cities perform sex-change surgery.

In 1989, without permission or fanfare, Dr. He Qinglian performed an operation that to his knowledge had never been done in China, however the first documented sex change in China was apparently performed secretly in Beijing in 1983 on the 20-year-old son of a senior army official [R1.1].

National

Effective 24 April 2010, the 21-year-long ban on travelers with sexually transmitted diseases including HIV was lifted [R1.2].

In 2003, Chinese authorities reportedly had been accused of violence and arbitrary arrests of HIV positive people seeking medication [R1.1].

Cities & Towns

In 2001, under the Chengdu City AIDS Prevention and Management Regulations, people with HIV and AIDS cannot marry, police must test people in "high-risk" groups within five days of arrest, and HIV-positive inmates must be kept in incarceration facilities separate from noninfected people [R2.1].

National

In September 2011, the Ministry of Justice reportedly had rewritten the national code of conduct for prison inmates, eliminating bans on homosexuality however, this does not mean that acts of homosexuality are accepted in prisons, only that inmates would be left alone if their homosexuality remains “spiritual” [R1.4].

In November 2003, Fudan university was reported to be offering a course on 'Homosexual Health, Society and Science', which included a field trip to gay bars in Shanghai [R1.3].

In March 2001, in a major reversal of previous policy, psychiatrists in this country of 1.3 billion people decided to stop classifying homosexuality as a mental disease [R1.2].

In 1997, China effectively decriminalized homosexuality. In 2001, it came off the list of mental illnesses (see below) [R1.1].

Courts & Tribunals

In September 1999, in a landmark decision, the Xuanwu District Court described homosexuality as abnormal and unacceptable to the public. It was the first time a mainland court had ruled on the nature of homosexuality [R2.1].

National

On 03 January 2010, Zeng Anquan and Pan Wenjie married in a gay bar in the town of Chengdu though same-sex marriage and civil unions are not legally recognised in China. Reportedly, the China Daily, an English-language newspaper, featured the wedding on the front page of its 13 January 2010 edition [R1.1].

National

In 2000, international adoptions were reportedly prohibited in China [R1.1]