The Beijing LGBT Center has been active in Beijing since 2008. They hosted the annual Gaymazing Race on April 25 [editor’s note: the Gaymazing Race was canceled after the May issue went to print], and hold a range of activities in order to raise funds and awareness throughout the year. Margaux Schreurs talked to John Shen, program officer at the Beijing LGBT Center, about the role the center takes on in Beijing, upcoming events, and the struggle of operating in Beijing.
How did the LGBT Center start out?
We were founded in 2008 on Valentine’s Day as the Beijing LGBT Activity Center. At that time there was no offline activity space for Beijing’s LGBT community and it was not until 2010 that we thought we had to do more, so we changed our name to the Beijing LGBT Center.
What struggles do you face operating in Beijing?
We face a lot of struggles [laughs]. There is pressure from the government, as well as funding pressures. Our events get cancelled a lot. [In 2014] we were holding our annual report celebration, but the police saw the event on Weibo and contacted the venue. They then told the venue not to host the event, so technically it wasn’t cancelled but we were denied access by the venue. Secondly, we have funding troubles: many Chinese foundations want to provide funding for HIV or education, but not for LGBT.
What projects are you working on right now?
We have a lot of projects going on right now. We have set up an LGBT-focused mental health counselor training scheme, and are even hoping to have members from Pink Therapy, a specialized London-based LGBT mental health organization, visit to share their experience.Last year we researched Chinese people’s experience with conversion therapy. This year we are looking at the attitudes of psychological counselors towards the LGBT community, as well as Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) discrimination for which we are working with the UNDP and Peking University.
What events are coming up?
Summer is looking busy! At the Center, we hold English and Chinese corners on Thursday night, Saturday night is movie night, and on Sundays we hold a games night. Soon we are planning to run the LGBT Voice of Beijing (laughs). We already held it last year but it was only in Chinese, this year’s will be bilingual and we are hoping for lots of participation from the English-speaking community. Then we are also planning on holding the LGBT Olympic Games in Beijing. We are continuing our monthly speed-dating event, and are hoping to celebrate Beijing Pride. We are still considering whether it will be allowed or not. This year is very sensitive, five women want to hand out some stickers on the street and they get caught. So I don’t know, we need to consider the risks.
What else would you like Beijing to know?
We do have a lot of interesting events for our foreign friends, and also would love to have more international volunteers at the center. If you have ideas for events but don’t have the resources, get in touch!
The Beijing LGBT Center is located in Room 2606, Bldg B, Xintiandi Plaza, 1 Xibahe Nanlu Jia, Chaoyang District and can be contacted on 5903 3730 / 150 0114 5911. For more information visit their website www.bjlgbtcenter.com.cn or follow the Center on Weibo.
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Photo: Ken