Chinese transgender man wins landmark wrongful dismissal case

The man, who would only be identified as Chen, was illegally fired after just a week on the job at a medical clinic in south-west China, a court ruled.

But the judge stopped short of forcing the company to apologise and did not say Chen’s dismissal was related to his gender identity. He was also awarded 2,000 yuan (£234), a month’s wages, in the 30 December ruling.

“I have always said this case was never about the money,” Chen told the Guardian. “This lawsuit was about three things: dignity, raising awareness of transgender and other sexual minorities, and pushing for anti-discrimination legislation.”

Although satisfied with the ruling, Chen vowed to continue legal challenges to force an apology. He said he hoped the case would spark renewed efforts towards enacting anti-discrimination legislation to protect more people like him. “A lot of people face workplace discrimination but they don’t dare step forward,” Chen said. “I felt like it was my responsibility to speak up.”

China remains deeply conservative when it comes to gender and sexuality. Being gay was only decriminalised in 1997 and it was still considered a mental illness until 2001 by the Chinese Society of Psychiatry. 

Only 21% said gay people should be accepted by society in a 2013 poll by the US research group Pew.