In March, Xiao filed suit against Cheng and the center for violating their professional licenses, as well as Baidu—the Chinese search engine—for accepting advertising from the center, arguing that the company failed to do “due diligence.” A district court in Beijing heard the case in August, and as Xiao and his supporters hoped, it garnered widespread media coverage in China. A circus-like atmosphere surrounded the courthouse, with gay performance artists entertaining the assembled media. Inside the court, Cheng denied that he had given Xiao the shock treatment. But Xiao had surreptitiously recorded the entire session and was able to play the recording in court. When he emerged from the courtroom, Xiao says, “I was trembling.” A verdict is expected imminently. Lawyers following the case believe the allegation against Baidu will be dismissed. They are divided as to the merits of the case against the counseling center. In any event—the amount of damages Xiao seeks, $1,700 from each defendant—speaks to the symbolic nature of the case in China. And the president of PFLAG says the mere filing of the case, and the attendant subsequent publicity—there was voluminous and overwhelmingly supportive chatter on WeChat and other social media forums dominated by the young in China—means that Xiao has already won: “These are early days here [in the push for LGBT rights.] You can’t compare what’s happening here with what’s happening in the United States or Europe. But this, this was a step forward.”
Posted on: Fri, 19 Sep 2014 11:47:20 +0000
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