I've got a friend from China over on Discord. He confided to us that he ended a friendship with someone today because they hated his transgender OC, and then proceeded to explain that it's a larger problem in China. Here's what he wrote:
To put it bluntly, almost the entire Internet environment in China is anti transgender.(Although China has protection laws for transgender individuals).
CN ppl who saw the news that transgender people died of abuse by their parents and then went on cheering are countless i would say
There are many people who use a small number of negative news to negate this group
I was scolded for a long time just saying 'But that's not the reason why they were brutally killed', and even some people called me a disgrace to the country
This is thanks to the media. About four years ago, the media began to put a large amount of negative news about LGBTQ community on the Chinese Internet
The current issue is that rulers do not want to interfere too much with the LGBTQ issues and have not publicly expressed their stance (However, it is explicitly stated in the law that transgender individuals should enjoy the same rights as other citizens).
However the voices of opposition from the public are very strong.
such strong sense of fragmentation
I would like to learn more about this issue, and, if it's as he's saying, try to understand better why things are this way in China and what, if anything, is being done about this over there.
During my time on Rednote I've only really found people to be very kind and supportive but I have little real life experience because I've unfortunately never been to China.
I can't speak too much about the other experiences lived by LGB people because I just don't know enough to accurately say, I've heard mixed things, but for trans people I've heard interesting things. Generally there seems to be a larger concentration of trans people in Beijing and Guangdong. General acceptance can vary but living a happy life is certainly possible from what I have seen. I once had a conversation with a person on the topic who had been to China for the purpose of learning about and helping trans people in China. I think the most interesting thing they said about the subject is they had never in their entire time encountered a single trans person who was homeless.
Transitioning is legal but requires surgery (That is to say, you have to have surgery before your ID legal documents can be updated to reflect your accurate credentials) and gender affirming care is restricted. I am not sure how restricted but I do know that recieving care is possible as there are gender clinics in the country. As far as I was aware I did not think there were any other protections in place for LGBTQ+ people in the country but your friend says the opposite so for that I don't know what to think but I'd probably take their word on that over mine. I really can't speak to how the general populace views the average trans person but it largely seems to be mixed and depends on which region you are in and who you speak to.
Generally I think for a trans person it isn't the worst place to live, I'd certainly rather live there than terf island but there is room for improvement. I do hope China will take inspiration from Vietnam and Cuba's example in the future and I'm optimistic about that.
I wish I could paint a more accurate picture for you but that's all I know from my brief investigation and limited information. I hope it helps you.