Chinese gay rights defender to sue newspaper for reporting male couple wedding

NEW DELHI - A gay rights defender in China has vowed to sue a Beijing newspaper after it reported the “wedding” of a male couple without their permission.

According to Xinhua, the gay rights defender, Xiao Dong, said that the Beijing Times reporter was unethical in photographing the couple’s backs after they had opposed to the photography, English.news.cn reported.iao, also the master of ceremonies at the wedding, said he was acting on behalf of the couple, and his lawyer has sent a letter to the newspaper requesting the removal of the pictures from websites, an official apology and the dismissal of the reporter

“If they don’t take these actions, we will have to take them to court,” Xiao, who works at the Beijing Rainbow Volunteer Station for HIV/AIDS Prevention, said.

Xiao said the reporter was invited to the private event along with other media partners as a reward for not reporting the event prior to the release of a story.

Apart from the photographs, Xiao said, the accompanying report was inaccurate, because it said the couple were asked to get “married”.

“They themselves made the decision,” he stated.

Xiao said they endorsed the “marriage” to set an example for the gay community, noting that stable relationships would lower the risk of sexually transmitted diseases, such as AIDS.

Currently, same-sex marriage is illegal in China, a country with millions of homosexuals. (ANI)