Fridae

An increasing number of Chinese lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender families are longing to have children, reports a popular local daily in China.

Li Yinhe, widow of the late novelist Wang Xiaopo, recently made public she has been with a female partner for 17 years and that they have adopted a child.

Li is probably the most well-known case in China, but she is in no way alone. There is now a burgeoning trend in the Chinese LGBT community towards raising families, with more and more seeking ways to establish a family with children, Guangzhou's Southern Metropolis Daily quoted Aqiang, executive director of Guangzhou-based Parent, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays as saying.

Aqiang said many LGBT attendees at a recent eagerly sought advice and assistance regarding having children of their own.

China does not have statistical data to back that claim but Aqiang believes, based on his long-term observation, the number of LGBTfamilies is increasing in China, Southern Metropolis Daily reported.

Some Chinese LGBThave, like Li Yinhe, resorted to adoption. A gay man living in Shenzhen, adopted a boy several years ago and enjoys the responsibility that comes with being his parent.

China legalized adult gay sex in 1997 and removed same-sex relations from an official list of psychiatric diseases in 2001 but marriage among same-sex is not legal and largely stigmatized because of the deeply held Chinese belief that children are required to marry and bear offspring to continue the family line.