2 College Students in China Were Disciplined for Giving Out Pride Flags. Can the Law Help Them?
The case illustrates the intersection of a tightening grip on LGBTQ expression, especially on college campuses, and the determination of some young Chinese to fight for more space.
The rainbow flags and accompanying note that landed two Tsinghua University students in trouble.
Credit: WeiboIn February, two Tsinghua University students filed a lawsuit against the Ministry of Education seeking to overturn punishments they had received for distributing rainbow flags on campus. The students, identified only as Huang and Li, had marked the International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia (IDAHOT) last May by leaving 10 rainbow flags in a campus supermarket along with a handwritten note saying “Please take ~ # PRIDE.” The university quickly identified the students using security camera footage, and dispatched staff to “educate” them “out of concern.” After the students refused to engage, the university administration launched an investigation.
Tsinghua concluded that Huang and Li violated university rules by distributing unauthorized “promotional materials” that “created a harmful influence,” and they did not “heed dissuasion.” The university gave Li a “warning” and Huang a “severe warning,” claiming the latter had used misleading and insulting language when posting about the incident on social media. The disciplinary actions prohibited the students from receiving postgraduate recommendations and scholarships for six months, and were recorded in their official dossiers.
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