The abrupt and unexplained deletion of a number of WeChat accounts dedicated to gay, transgender, asexual, and feminist concerns is the latest setback for LGBTQ+ and women’s free expression in China.
The widespread account closures occurred on the night of the 22 August Qixi Festival, a traditional celebration of the reunion of lovers who had previously been denied the opportunity to be together. It was unclear whether the dates of the closures were coincidental or deliberate, chinadigitaltimes.net reports.
«Such accounts have been targeted once before two or three years ago», said [veteran activist Li Tingting], who is better known in feminist circles as Li Maizi. «The government departments in charge of internet management have always targeted accounts linked to sexual minorities, which aren’t encouraged by the Chinese government».
