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Chen Yifei

A 30-year-old Chinese man is petitioning to the World Health Organisation to demand a ‘gay cure’ ban worldwide.
“They hypnotised me and gave me electronic shocks. They made every effort trying to stop me from being gay.” The man, who identified himself with the pseudonym Xiao Zhen, shared his experience in an online petition video.
Along with the video posted on the website of All Out, an organisation fighting for gay rights, Xiao Zhen also asked Margaret Chan, Director-General of WHO to speak up for the plight of homosexuals in China and reaffirm that “being gay is not a disease”.
As of Friday afternoon, the petition has been signed by more than 100,000 people.
All Out said WHO has agreed to meet Xiao Zhen in China to discuss the matter.
Despite China’s health ministry having removed homosexuality from the mental disease list in 2001, viewing homosexuality as illness is not uncommon in the wider Chinese society. Anxious parents often force their homosexual children into marriage to ‘cure’ their disease, or take them to sham clinics to convert their sexual orientation.
Conversion therapy, a controversial treatment that aims to change people’s sexuality, has a long history in the west but is no more backed by medical authorities as it is based on the false assumption that homosexuality is a mental disorder.
In 2012, the Pan American Health Organisation [the north and south American branch of WHO] cautioned against the use of the therapy, saying it lacked scientific justification and could lead to severe consequences to the health and well-being of the people being treated.
Contemporary advocates of the treatment are mostly Christian groups, but in China, the pressure often comes from family and friends.
Xiao Zhen was pressured at the time he resorted to seeking medical treatment. He searched for “homosexual treatment” on Baidu, a Chinese search engine, and a clinic in Chongqing popped up on top of the results. So he went there.
The treatment he received was an attempt to shock the "gay" out of him. “It was traumatic,” he later told the media.
“We did a research on people who went for homosexual [conversion] treatment. They suffered a great deal both mentally and physically,” said Xiao Tie, executive director of Beijing LGBT Centre, who is co-operating with All Out to spread Zhen’s message.
Consensus has yet to be reached among China’s psychiatric community on the matter.
“Doctors working in reputable hospitals would not recommend the conversion therapy as being gay is not a disease. They would instead ask parents to take a counseling session,” said Xiao Tie, “whereas the clinics would do it, because it’s profitable.”
There is no scholarly research on clinics performing conversion therapy in China. “It is impossible to knock on the doors of every clinic and conduct research,” said Fang Gang, a psychology professor at Beijing Forestry University.
In his opinion, “Psychiatrists would normally listen to their patients. If they want conversion treatment, they’ll be treated accordingly. If they want to accept who they are, they will also be assisted."
Fang said many psychiatrists do not hold a university degree in psychology. They usually take training courses to pass exams for a professional certificate.
Xiao Zhen sued the Chongqing clinic and Baidu, who ranked the clinic’s advertisement on conversion therapy high when searching for “homosexuality treatment”.
Beijing Haidian court heard the case on July 31st, and the court was expected to pass sentence in September.


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Xiao Zhen's petition on website All Out. Photo: SCMP Pictures

Xiao Zhen. Photo: All Out

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China Insider

A 30-year-old Chinese man is petitioning to the World Health Organisation to demand a ‘gay cure’ ban worldwide.
