I recently wrote an article about homosexuality in China, the gist of which was that gays in China’s cities feel freer than ever _ except for one aspect. They endure huge family pressure to marry and bear offspring. Many gays marry, have a baby, then divorce. Click here for the story. The photo above is of a young gay man I quote in the article.

I bring it up because one of the people I quoted is Li Yinhe, a noted sexual behaviorist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS). I arranged the interview reluctantly because I had heard she likes to charge for her views, something our news organization flatly refuses to do. Ever. Apparently the meter doesn’t run for the first 15 minutes, so I was prepared for a quick meeting.

She was quite relaxed. After about 12 minutes, I wrapped things up but threw in a quick question about why she wants to charge journalists. She laughed it off, suggesting it was just a way to keep media requests from overwhelming her.

In fact, it turns out that Li Yinhe is under a great deal of stress. I tip my hat to the Peking Duck blog for translating and reprinting one of Dr. Li’s latest blog entries. It underscores how outspoken social commentators can endure huge pressure themselves in China. Dr. Li has been a proponent of legalizing gay marriage in China. Not any more. Here is what she wrote:

“I've had conflicting feelings lately. People have long criticized cynicism -- a few years ago an overseas free thinker (Chinese) whom I respect very much criticized the growing cynicism among Chinese intellectuals. Unfortunately, in China, there are times when cynicism is the only choice we have. And it's the choice I'm facing now: higher-ups [at CASS], under pressure from "people who aren't Average Joes," would like me to shut up. Actually, the higher-ups don't think there's anything politically sensitive about my choice of topic -- the pressure isn't coming from the government (if it were, [CASS] would have folded long ago), but even if I am just talking about things that don't have any political sensitivity attached, they're still about to fold under the pressure from outside. So starting now, there will be a while - maybe the rest of my life - where I've decided:
1. to accept as few press interviews as possible.
2. to publish as few papers related to sex as possible.

I want to start enjoying my life. I don't want to uphold any more of my social responsibility, because it's interfering with my life, and it's causing pressure on my higher-ups. They're good people, and even if I think that cynicism is bad and wrong, perhaps it's the only way.

Gay marriage is not something that our country can accept at this stage of its cultural development. History will change when it must. And perhaps I will only be able to be a bystander when the change comes, rather than a participant.”