With a population of a bazillion kajillion (1.3 billion) China must have a substantial LGBT population, no? According to InsiderMonkey.com, 1 out of 6 men in China is gay, the smallest ratio in the world (Canada – 1 in 9, US – 1 in 12, UK – 1 in 20). And where there's a gay, there must be some L,B, and T citizens, too. The Atlantic reports an estimated 9.5 million transgender people live in China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.
With such a possible large percentage of its citizens as gay, will we see LGBT progress out of China this year? We're happy to say, it has already started.
A transgender man, who goes by Mr. C, alleged that he was fired from his job at a health care company (Ciming Health Check-up Center) because of he is transgender. A labor arbitration board ruled in his favor last year, awarding him some back wages but also ruled that the company had not broken any laws when they let him go.
A representative for the company told the Associated Press they had not discriminated against Mr. C in terminating his employment. Though the court ruled in his favor this week—ruling that he had been unfairly dismissed—they didn’t concede that he had been fired because he was transgender, limiting the impact of this victory on future cases.
“I have always said this case was never about the money,” Mr. C told the Guardian. “This lawsuit was about three things: dignity, raising awareness of transgender and other sexual minorities, and pushing for anti-discrimination legislation.”
He said he would pursue further appeals to call for an apology from the company and acknowledgement that he was discriminated against. – fusion.net
Currently, there are no federal protections against gender or sexual orientation-based discrimination in Chinese labor law.
Will Mr. C's push for an apology have ripple effects throughout China?
Will we see more progress this year in Chinese LGBT equality?
h/t: fusion.net