Gay marriage at residence of British ambassador to Beijing goes viral on Chinese internet
11:39AM BST 09 Sep 2014
A British diplomat has become a gay icon in China after marrying his American partner on the lawn of the ambassador's residence in Beijing.
Brian Davidson, the consul general of Shanghai, and Scott Chang wore bow-ties and matching slippers as they wed in front of around 60 guests at the weekend.
Gay unions are not legal in China, where the government adopts a "three nots" approach to homosexuality: not approved, not disapproved, not promoted.
So when Mr Davidson posted pictures of his wedding on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, they quickly drew attention.
In one picture, Sir Sebastian Wood, the British ambassador, posed with one of the wedding programmes which said: "Keep Calm and Marry On".
"I am very proud that the law in the United Kingdom today affords me the same rights as any other British national to be married to whomever I love," Mr Davidson wrote on Weibo, in a comment that was reposted some 30,000 times and which drew 20,000 largely supportive comments.
"Gay marriage is about one person getting married to another person. What is the difference between this and a straight marriage?" asked one commenter. "It is all about love. Everyone should come out and be brave and I wish you a good life."
Other commenters pointed out that many gay men in China are forced into unhappy marriages by parental pressure. "I know lots of gay professors, doctors, lawyers and judges. They all hide their real sexuality, but they should prove to everyone in China that there is nothing evil about homosexuality," wrote one person.
Mr Davidson said he was astonished by the response. "It was completely unexpected. I assumed that only a few of our friends would forward it."
"I think it also shows that modern Britain is quite different from many people's perceptions," he added. "The scale of the coverage has been a bit daunting, but it has mostly been very positive. A lot of our Chinese friends have taken it as a positive thing that we are not hiding that we are in love and married."
He said many of the couple's Chinese friends had asked them to share their wedding. "We have a lot of friends who do not have this kind of opportunity. It was them who asked us to release something on Weibo.
"It is a big thing that the UK allows this. When I was growing up I never thought that it would be possible and I am proud that my government has made this possible and we wanted to be able to show that."
The Foreign Office announced in June that it would allow overseas embassies and consulates to perform same-sex marriages for Britons and their partners in countries where it is illegal under local laws. The Chinese government approved the move, although the authorities in Hong Kong objected.
Wei Jiangang, a guest at the wedding and the founder of Queer Comrades, a Beijing-based gay rights NGO, said it was the first legal gay marriage he had attended.
"Although it was not legal under Chinese law, it still sends a very good and positive message to China's gay community," he said. "What moved me the most was their families' blessing, especially the speech given by Scott Chang's father. He said the marriage goes against his tradition, but that his son was a good son and as long as he is happy, he was willing to bless the union."
Additional reporting by Adam Wu
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