Chinese Valentine's Day, our gay day! (2)

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The center held a ceremony and various other activities on Tuesday to celebrate the festival and call for understanding and tolerance towards the gay community.

During last year's Qixi festival which fell on Aug. 23, two young men from Dongguan in south China married with the blessing of parents and friends as well as hundreds of strangers. Their wedding ignited debate over the legality of gay marriage.

"China has become more open-minded and tolerant of homosexuality along with economic development and the advancement of society," said Li Yinhe, a noted sexologist from Beijing. She believes that only a few people explicitly oppose homosexuality in China today.

On popular twitter-like social website weibo.com, netizens are forwarding posts like "Happy Qixi festival to all lovers, no matter if you are gays, lesbians, heterosexual or bisexual."

Worldwide, countries including the Netherlands, Belgium and the United Kingdom have recognized gay marriage. Eight states and Washington D.C. in the U.S. have also legalized gay marriage. In China, homosexuality was deleted in the list of mental illnesses in 2001.

The number of PFLAGs and other homosexual organizations has sharply increased in the past five years, promoting tolerance of the homosexuality community and helping prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.

"Only a minority of people still regard homosexuality abnormal," said Xiao Tie.

"Homosexuality adds to the diversity of society and culture, and it should be accepted." he said. Enditem

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