Human Rights Watch (HRW), a US-based advocacy group, has raised serious alarm over Chinese authorities' systematic censorship of LGBT-themed social media accounts, foreign films, and cultural events during Pride Month, warning that such measures signal a deepening rights crisis for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in China. The organisation noted that several of the targeted events were organised by foreign embassies and cultural institutes.

Key Developments

Among the most cited incidents, Red Note, a major Chinese social media platform, reportedly banned the account of a Paris-based independent bookstore on 19 June after it promoted a screening of a transgender-themed film in the French capital. Red Note confirmed the ban but offered no explanation.

Separately, the Institut Français (French Institute) — the French government's global cultural organisation — cancelled screenings of LGBT-themed films scheduled for 6 and 7 June in Beijing following visits by police. Citing French newspaper Le Monde, HRW stated that the institute had flagged concerns over the 'continued harassment of the cultural centre and its Chinese staff.' Police had reportedly demanded to verify the identity cards of Chinese nationals intending to attend the screenings, a move the rights body described as audience intimidation.

On 31 May, the Goethe-Institut, Germany's cultural centre in Beijing, abruptly shifted an in-person event on gender expression to an online format, citing the venue being 'blocked.'

What HRW Said

Yalkun Uluyol, China researcher at HRW, said: 'Under Xi Jinping, the Chinese government's intensifying repression and promotion of normative gender and sexuality has resulted in shrinking spaces for LGBT people.'

He added: 'Almost three decades since China decriminalised homosexuality, authorities' paranoia about grassroots social movements has severely undermined LGBT people's ability to gain visibility and equality.'

HRW further stated that the Chinese government's suppression of free speech and association, combined with its promotion of state-sanctioned gender norms, violates both the rights of LGBT individuals and China's international legal obligations.

The Broader Crackdown Under Xi

According to HRW, the pattern of repression intensified significantly after 2015, when Chinese authorities launched a nationwide crackdown on human rights lawyers and arrested prominent feminists. Since then, LGBT activists and organisations have faced increasingly severe restrictions on their activities and public visibility.

This comes amid a broader tightening of civil society space under President Xi Jinping, who has presided over a sustained rollback of freedoms that once allowed limited LGBT expression in Chinese cities. Notably, China decriminalised homosexuality in 1997, yet advocates argue legal tolerance has never translated into meaningful social or political recognition.

Calls to Action

HRW called on the Chinese government to immediately halt censorship of LGBT content and events. Uluyol said: 'LGBT people in China are entitled to equality and basic rights, not hostility and marginalisation.' The rights body specifically urged European governments — whose cultural events were among those targeted — to press Beijing to uphold the rights of LGBT people in China.

With Pride Month drawing international attention to LGBT rights globally, the incidents documented by HRW are likely to intensify diplomatic scrutiny of China's domestic rights record in the months ahead.