A prominent
Chinese sociologist is asking her country's chief political
advisory body to legally recognize same-sex marriage. Li
Yinhe's proposal is the third one she's submitted to
the National Committee of the Chinese People's
Political Consultative Conference, of which she is a
member, reports the Chinese news agency Xinhua.
Li, a marriage and sex studies scholar at the
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, said that
legalizing same-sex marriage is an effective strategy
for ending discrimination against gay people. She also said
that as HIV infections rise in China, allowing gay
people to marry may help curb the spread of the virus
because marriage promotes stability and safe sex.
However, she added that China is not yet
"prepared" for such a step. Her two prior proposals
failed to get the minimum level of committee support
needed for approval.
China removed homosexuality from its official
list of psychoses in 2001. A 2004 government survey
estimated that there are as many as 10 million gay men
in the country, although the number of lesbians was not
calculated. (Advocate.com)
