LGBT events spring up on Chinese campuses

Marking International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia (IDAHOT) on May 17, college and high school students rallied on campuses across China in an effort to raise awareness of LGBT rights violations.

At Beijing Foreign Studies University, student activists posed for a photo to show solidarity with those affected by homophobia. Posters advocating for LGBT rights also appeared across campus.

Bilangda Lanfeila (碧浪达·蓝菲拉), a Douban user who collected photos of May 17 LGBT events at Chinese universities, wrote (in Chinese), “Dark clouds will never overshadow the sun.”

Nanjing University

Sichuan International Studies University

Beijing Normal University

The Global Times reported that at Beijing No. 80 High School, rainbow-colored stickers were distributed among students from the school’s international department, an activity inspired by students of the Affiliated High School of Peking University and Beijing National Day School.

Beijing high school students promote LGBT awareness with t-shirt campaign

This year’s IDAHOT came only days after an altercation near Beijing’s 798 Art District, where two women at an LGBTQ advocacy event got entangled with some security guards. Last week, the European Broadcasting Union announced it would terminate its partnership with Hunan TV due to the Chinese station’s censorship of gay-themed content when it aired the Eurovision semifinal.