Beijing Queer film festival cancelled after harassment from authorities
www.theguardian.com
Forums for discussion of feminist and LGBTQ+ views face growing intolerance from Chinese state, say experts

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/61143788

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[…]

Chinese Police had increased pressure on the festival through repeated phone calls in recent weeks, it is understood.

[…]

The Chinese authorities have grown increasingly intolerant of open discussion of feminist or LGBTQ+ issues. Film festivals in particular attract particular scrutiny because they provide an opportunity to platform narratives that sit outside the Communist party’s worldview.

Beijing Independent film festival, China’s most prominent independent film festival, was closed down in 2014 after the authorities detained the founders and shut off the electricity supply to the venue. Last year, an independent Chinese film festival that was due to be held in New York was cancelled after harassment from the Chinese authorities, an incident which raised concern about transnational repression.

[…]

Hongwei Bao, a professor of Chinese studies at the University of St Andrews who focuses on LGBT issues, said that the festival was “a beacon for LGBT resilience” in China.

“The shutdown of the Love Queer Cinema Week has a chilling affect on the Chinese queer community,” Bao said.

In June this year, screenings of films with LGBTQ+ themes that were scheduled to be held in Beijing during Pride month at the Institut Français, a French cultural centre, were cancelled because of police harassment.

[…]

Despite the increased pressure, Beijing Queer film festival remains a popular event. Several international film-makers whose work had been selected for the festival had travelled to China to participate. Last year, the festival received 200 volunteer applications, four times the number received in 2024.

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  • Jax@sh.itjust.works
    93·
    11 hours ago

    You must not read comments too much if you’ve totally missed all the posts discussing trans rights, or lack thereof, in the U.S. while being painfully silent on posts like this.

    I mean shit, just a few weeks ago I was literally met with whataboutism on a post about a woman being executed for blasphemy in Iran.

    But what about the live execution?

    Says the .mler.

    I don’t have the patience to go through each and every individual instance of hypocrisy coming out of .ml or hexbear. Feel free to continue posting there.

    • TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today
      39·
      10 hours ago

      You must not read comments too much if you’ve totally missed all the posts discussing trans rights, or lack thereof, in the U.S. while being painfully silent on posts like this.

      In my experience most people on hex don’t post on .world?

      Plus… I am actively discussing this as someone who shares a lot of the same sentiment. You aren’t bringing anything to the current discussion, you’re just attacking a straw man.

      I was literally met with whataboutism on a post about a woman being executed for blasphemy in Iran.

      And? You’re currently their logical fallacy to justify your own logical fallacy.

      don’t have the patience to go through each and every individual instance of hypocrisy coming out of .ml or hexbear.

      I didn’t ask you too? I was giving you an opportunity to have a conversation about the topic you claimed no one would dare talk about out of fear of hypocrisy…you chose to complain about it instead?

      • Jax@sh.itjust.works
        73·
        9 hours ago

        Yeah this level of willfull ignorance is about what I’d expect from someone who frequents .ml and hexbear communities.

        • TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today
          11·
          1 hour ago

          Lol, willfully ignorant and yet the only person who wants to address the actual topic? Even though that was your original dispute…

          • Jax@sh.itjust.works
            21·
            1 hour ago

            I have addressed the topic, you’ve tried to move the goalposts and I haven’t let you.

            Feel free to continue to flail.

            • TranscendentalEmpire@lemmy.today
              11·
              58 minutes ago

              Your original statement was that ml or hex wouldn’t address the topic because it would be hypocritical. I am someone who frequents those subs, I am addressing the topic. How am I being hypothetical?

              You listed anecdotal statements you claim others have made that you claim make them hypocritical, but you haven’t addressed this topic or my response. You continue to just argue with strawmen instead of the person in front of you.

              • SreudianFlip@sh.itjust.works
                2·
                10 minutes ago

                Here’s the rhetorical technique used to move the goalposts:

                A comment predicting general avoidance of a certain cognitive dissonance in a community.

                A reply then states, here I am, talking about it, thus you are wrong.

                The trick is a categorical blurring by shifting the discussion about general behaviour of a group to that of one individual who implies that they are a sufficient representative of that community to settle the argument.

                C’mon, they were talking about the tenor of conversation in an echo chamber. Pay attention.