A student in Guangzhou has taken it upon himself to pressure government officials to legalize same-sex marriage.
On Monday morning, Liang Wenhui, a graduate student from Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, posted 3,000 letters to individual deputies of the National People’s Congress (NPC) calling for same-sex marriage to receive legal recognition. It’s not the first time he’s gone to such lengths, either; last year he wrote 100 deputies but didn’t get any response. That’s why he increased the number this year, Guangzhou Daily reports.
The 3,000 letters were written by students at Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou. Liang claims same-sex couples have experienced a lot of discrimination when it comes to receiving medical and health services, social welfare, and rights related to the disposal of property, commercial insurance, hukou and the purchase of a home.
Twenty-two students spent five and half hours to put the letters in the envelopes, pile them into four big boxes and take them to the post office.
Liang was profiled last year by the Nanfang Metropolis Daily as one of Guangdong’s most prominent gay activists. He is from Yangjiang, in the west of Guangdong, and realized he was different from other boys at a young age. He says he has suffered a great deal of stress by having his lifestyle stigmatized.
Liang founded Chinese Gay-Straight Alliance, a public welfare organization to support LGBT people in 2011, and presides over general courses related to alternative lifestyles in his university. Liang started spreading his ideas and beliefs on homosexuality to teachers, classmates and friends on IDAHO, or International Day Against Homophobia, on May 17, 2011. He said, “The social environment surrounding homosexuality won’t see any change if nobody stands out and everyone stays silent.”
If you are interested to know more about Liang’s organization, you can keep an eye on his Weibo.
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