The government in China will set up a foundation to help LGBT groups fundraise money.
China will help ease the dependence on foreign donations, in what advocates have described as a positive move,
China’s PFLAG (Parents, Friends and Families of Lesbians and Gays) group started the foundation ahead of its 10th anniversary this year.
It revealed in a statement that it was working with an organization within the Ministry of Civil Affairs to develop the foundation.
‘We are negotiating with the China Social Assistance Foundation (CSAF), a social organization registered with the Ministry of Civil Affairs. Once completed, the new foundation will place its funds under CSAF,’ PFLAG founder A Qiang told the Global Times.
‘The foundation will allow us to receive donations from all over the country. This way, Chinese LGBT groups will enjoy more autonomy from foreign funds, and can function more effectively.’
Many LGBT groups in China rely heavily on foreign donations to operate or struggle financially to stay open.
This is an exciting development
But advocates said the government’s willingness to help with the foundation showed that it has started recognizing the LGBT groups.
Freeing themselves from the influence of foreign benefactors will be very important for many of the organizations. Some advocates said foreign donors often dictated how organization should spend their donations.
For many LGBT organizations experiencing growing pains, it’s understandable that they need to depend on foreign donations to survive. But they need to remember not to be influenced by Western organizations,’ A Qiang said.
Homosexuality is not illegal in China, but organizations often struggle to achieve their objectives. That could be due to national censorship or strict laws around public meetings.
Just last week, security guards at an art precinct attacked a woman trying to hand out rainbow badges ahead of this year’s IDAHOBT day.
Other LGBT groups have had their events constantly cancelled by authorities at the last minute, forcing them to sometimes cancel them altogether.
