12 Aug 2009

Lesbian magazine in Beijing raided by police

Les Plus, a magazine published by a group of lesbians in Beijing, had their distribution outlet - the Beijing LGBT Centre - raided and copies of the magazine confiscated by the police last week, says report.

Xtra, a Canadian gay newspaper, quoted Les Plus publishers Eva, Tatou and Gogo (all pseudonyms), who were attending a human rights gathering in Copenhagen, Denmark - following the main Outgames human rights conference, as saying that the magazine's distribution centre was raided while they were away.

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The lesbian-oriented magazine which has been in publication since 2005 is said to contain political commentary alongside articles and news of LGBT interest. The magazine has operated underground since then as all media (both digital and print) require a license which is known to only be granted to state-owned companies.

Two other civil rights groups Yirenping (益仁平), a group that advocates on behalf of people infected with hepatitis B and Gongmeng ((公盟) (or Open Constitution Initiative), described by the New York Times as "the country’s pre-eminent legal rights center" have also been raided in recent weeks. Gongmeng has been shut down and its founder Xu Zhiyong, has not been heard from since being taken into police custody on Jul 29. At Yirenping, officials confiscated stacks of literature which they claimed had been printed without official permission.

China will mark the 60th anniversary of the Communist Revolution and the founding of the People's Republic of China on October 1. 

China