Dear friends,
Earlier this year, my girlfriend proposed to me. We posted photos announcing the engagement online.
The next thing I knew, the police were breaking into my apartment, collecting personal notes as "evidence."
That's because Guangdong University of Foreign Studies doesn't approve of two women in love. They think we've committed a crime.
And I'm not alone – young people across China face homophobic harassment every day. We're drugged and put in "conversion therapy." We're told that we're "sick" because of who we are and who we love.
But with the global support of All Out members, we actually stand a fighting chance.
If 3,000 people chip in by midnight on December 31, All Out will have the support they need to keep fueling the fights of people like me in 2017.
Over 75,000 All Out members signed my petition calling for a public apology from my school. Even though my school has yet to apologise, this amazing show of support from complete strangers around the world gives us the strength to keep fighting.
Some of our textbooks even teach that being gay is a disease. That's why my friend Qui Bai is working with All Out to get rid of these anti-gay textbooks. 70,000 people have already signed their petition.
The discrimination we face here is so pervasive, but because of the support I've witnessed from All Out members, through it all, I still believe that love can win.
We may not have the same deeply entrenched power as our homophobic institutions and politicians, but when we stand together, our voices are a force to be reckoned with.
Love is always stronger than hate – here in China, and around the world.
In solidarity,
Xiaoyu Wang
All Out member
