February 7, 2013
Elderly Chinese Gay Couple's Wedding Goes Viral
Jason St. Amand READ TIME: 2 MIN.
An elderly Chinese gay couple was recently put under the media spotlight after their wedding went viral on Weibo, China's Twitter, Gay Star News reports.
The two men held a wedding ceremony in Beijing on Jan. 30 and instantly became a hot topic of conversation on social media websites in China. The couple have about 12,000 fans on Weibo, one of the conservative country's most popular social media websites, and kept their fans informed of their event when they tied the knot.
Although same-sex activity has been legal since 1997, the Chinese government does not recognize same-sex unions and gay marriage. Additionally, same-sex adoption is prohibited and China does not have any anti-discrimination laws.
One of the men in the ceremony wore a beautiful white wedding gown while the other wore a traditional tux. The couple also had shots of a traditional Chinese spirit called bajiu during the event. A number of their fans on Weibo congratulated the couple, who call each other "Big Treasure" and "Little Treasure."
The men also posted a video of them singing a lover song to each other, which was shared 5,640 times, the website notes.
"The heart is very excited but at the same time is also accompanied by an uneasy feeling,'" the couple wrote on Weibo, noting that marriage equality is not recognized in China.
Even though the men were pleased with the ceremony, they did say they were disappointed as one of the men's sons said he couldn't except their relationship.
"It's disappointing that outsiders can bless us but not our own son," the couple wrote on Weibo. "The heartless child is sabotaging our happiness."
The men announced that they were getting married in late January on Weibo in a response to a campaign by the Big Love Alliance, a Hong Kong LGBT rights group.
"We won't part till we die," the men said.
According to the Huffington Post, one of the men is a retired history teacher and the other is a water deliver man. They met when the deliverer brought water to the former teacher.
