Chinese gay couples to wed in the US

Ten Chinese gay couples have been chosen as part of a special Valentine's Day event to get married in the US in June, a non-profit LGBT organization announced.

The couples were chosen from an online poll, and will hold a group wedding ceremony in West Hollywood, California, the Guangzhou-based Parents and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) organization said on its WeChat public account on Monday.

It was organized by three non-profit LGBT organizations and Taobao, Alibaba's e-commerce platform, to generate respect and understanding for gays in China, A Qiang (pseudonym), the head of PFLAG, told the Global Times.

The activity started on January 23 and underwent three phases with more than 400 gay couples registering and 20 couples making it to the final round, A Qiang said.

Those who registered uploaded videos of their love stories and the final 20 couples were selected based on the votes they received from netizens.

"The 20 couples know their marriage is not recognized under Chinese law, but they still want to get married in the US," A Qiang added.

West Hollywood mayor John D'Amico welcomed the China activity and promised to serve as a wedding witness.

About 1 million netizens visited the website and 75,069 people voted for the couples from February 6 to 9, Alibaba PR specialist Phannel Lee told the Global Times.

"This activity has greater social than commercial value, for it helps to draw more attention to gay rights in China," Li Yinhe, a sociologist at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told The Global Times on Thursday.

"This is the first time for Taobao to organize an activity for gays and we will organize more of these to involve more people in the future," said Lee.

The names of the lucky couples will be announced on Taobao from February 10 to 14, and tour packages for gay couples to the five countries where gay marriage is legal will be offered on Taobao, Lee said.

A report by Chinese health authorities in 2004 said that there were more than 10 million male homosexuals but famous sexologist Zhang Beichuan has estimated that there are at least 30 million homosexual Chinese.