Man sues agency after gay NGO application denied  

男子申請成立同性戀組織遭拒 官方：違道德風尚

去年，小寒向民政部門咨詢申請成立同性戀社會組織，被告知不能注冊。隨后，他要求民政部門予以回復說明。湖南省民政廳給他的理由是，“同性戀組織沒有法律基礎”，“與我國傳統文化和精神文明建設有悖”。這讓他覺得很不合理，決定發起行政訴訟。[查看全文]

(ECNS) -- A man in Hunan province filed a lawsuit on Wednesday against the Department of Civil Affairs of Hunan Province for refusing to endorse the establishment of a gay organization, the Xiaoxiang Morning Herald reported on Thursday.

The 20-year-old man going under the pseudonym "Xiaohan" is a gay rights activist who initiated an underground group for homosexuals in 2009.

In May 2013, he was arrested and detained for 12 days for organizing a parade without permission in Changsha.

After the incident, he decided to form a non-governmental organization (NGO) to protect the rights of gay people.

Xiaohan attempted to legally register the group at several civil affairs departments in November of 2013, but was rejected. He then sent a request letter to the provincial civil affairs bureau of Hunan.

In an email reply to the activist's request, the department said: "There is no legal foundation for establishing a homosexual organization," and "homosexuality is against China's traditional culture and morality."

Xiaohan demanded that the civil affairs department retract its reply and apologize in written form for "defaming" him, and for its comments on homosexuality and Chinese culture.

Xiaohan filed suit against the department at the people's court in Kaifu district of Changsha on Wednesday.

The court will decide whether to hear the case in seven working days.