Fujian's first open gay marriage

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2012-10-17

A gay couple get married in public in Fujian province. (Internet photo)

Rare on many levels was the wedding in the small town of Ningde in south China's Fujian province. The groom and groom rolled away from the scene of their marriage on electric motorcycles, coasting along the country roads and attracting the attention of thousands of spectators. Liu Hausheng, a taxi driver, said, "It's a very lively day grander than New Year's! I give my blessings to them, " reports Xiamen-based Haixi Morning Post.

Liu Zhong, 24, and 20-year-old Liu Wangqiang are the first gay couple to hold a public marriage ceremony in Fujian. On Chinese Valentine's Day, the seventh day of the seventh lunar month according to the Chinese calendar, their open engagement had already caused quite the stir.

In September, they shot engagement photos in Quanzhou in public.

Shortly after midnight on Oct. 2, Lu Zhong posted a message on his microblog saying, "Today, on Oct. 2, we are married, with all of its blessings and challenges! We are strong! Please send us your blessings!"

The couple is temporarily taking up residence in a hotel, their room replete with a blazing red character for double happiness (often seen in Chinese weddings), balloons, streamers and wedding photos. Lu Zhong's house is currently under construction, and they intend to stay in the province, open a bar, and live a stable life.

Around 60 friends and netizens from Guangdong and Guangxi came to the wedding. Lu Zhong's eldest sister said: "I knew about my brother's sexual preference seven or eight years ago, and had no objection to my brother's choice," although she disapproved of the public attention he has been attracting throughout his engagement.

Teacher Lin, one of Lu Zhong's junior high school teachers, also came to the wedding, and said he understands Lu's choice and wishes them both happiness.

Liu Wangqiang's 78-year-old grandmother did not attend her grandson's wedding. She finds it difficult to understand the choices of her grandson. Liu Wangqiang's father said: "Once I didn't want to recognize my son, but I finally gave in, and even persuaded his grandmother not to interfere and let them be."

Related Articles:

Out of the closet and on to the pitch


About the Challenges of Being a Gay Man – Oct 23, 2010 (Saint Germain channelled by Alexandra Mahlimay and Dan Bennack) - “You see, your Soul and Creator are not concerned with any perspective you have that contradicts the reality of your Divinity – whether this be your gender, your sexual preference, your nationality – or your race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or anything else.”

"The Akashic System" – Jul 17, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: Religion, The Humanization of God, Benevolent Design, DNA, Akashic Circle, (Old) Souls, Gaia, Indigenous People, Talents, Reincarnation, Genders, Gender Switches, In “between” Gender Change, Gender Confusion, Shift of Human Consciousness, Global Unity,..... etc.)  - (Text version)