China

China’s approach to LGBTIQ people’s human rights has long been described as “don’t encourage, don’t oppose, don’t promote,” yet increasingly restrictive measures have made advocacy and public discussion more difficult. Through the Cybersecurity Law and related regulations, authorities restrict LGBTIQ-related content deemed to “disrupt social order,” resulting in extensive censorship of online organizing, community support, and public education. In 2025, several gay dating apps were removed from the Apple App Store in China, and prominent queer social media accounts were forced to rebrand or shut down, further weakening digital spaces that had long served as key sites for community connection. Many advocacy organizations had already been forced to close or move underground in previous years, leaving even fewer online spaces for community support and connection.

At the same time, the state’s narrow interpretation of “family values” has intensified pressure on sexual and gender minorities to conform to heterosexual and binary gender norms. Conversion practices remain widely available and poorly regulated, and many individuals continue to face coercion from families and society to undergo such practices. Although a 2025 public opinion poll suggested growing support for LGBTIQ people’s rights, particularly among younger people in major cities, these attitudes have not translated into legal protections or structural reform.

Cultural expression related to sexual orientation and gender identity has also faced heightened restrictions, including the digital alteration of same-sex wedding scenes in foreign films released in China and the cancellation of an independent Chinese-language film festival in New York following pressure linked to China.

Within the judicial system, courts have previously issued rulings favorable to plaintiffs in cases challenging conversion practices, recognizing the harm such practices cause to individuals. These cases briefly drew international media attention but did not lead to broader institutional change. Transgender people continue to face barriers to health care and legal gender recognition, and incidents of homophobic violence, including a reported attack in Zhengzhou, have not resulted in meaningful structural responses.

Despite the overall contraction of civic space, rainbow families have achieved limited, symbolic recognition through the courts. In May 2024, a Beijing court ruled for the first time that a child could have two legal mothers.