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Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

2025-09-06T01:04:17Z

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[[File:Poster titled Advance bravely along the road of Socialism with Chinese characteristics.png|thumb|1989 Poster, titled "Advance bravely along the road of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics."]]
The system of '''socialism with Chinese characteristics''' (Chinese: 中国特色社会主义; pinyin: ''Zhōngguó tèsè shèhuìzhǔyì)'' is a set of socio-political theories, socio-economic theories and policies of the [[Communist Party of China]] (CPC) that are the application of [[Marxism–Leninism]] adapted to Chinese circumstances and specific time periods, consisting of [[Mao Zedong Thought]], [[Deng Xiaoping Theory]], [[Three Represents]] ([[Jiang Zemin]]), [[Scientific Outlook on Development]] ([[Hu Jintao]]), and [[Xi Jinping Thought|Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era]].<ref>{{News citation|title=Chinese dictionary|url=https://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/dictionary.php|newspaper=Yellow bridge|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180703075340/https://www.yellowbridge.com/chinese/dictionary.php|archive-date=3 July 2018}}</ref>

In this view, Xi Jinping Thought is considered to represent [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxist–Leninist]] policies suited for [[People's Republic of China|China's]] present condition while Deng Xiaoping Theory was considered relevant for the period when it was formulated. Ultimately they are still core elements of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.<ref>{{News citation|title=Full text of the letter by China's Minister of Commerce|url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-07/02/c_137296686.htm|newspaper=[[Xinhua News Agency]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180702191911/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2018-07/02/c_137296686.htm|archive-date=2 July 2018}}</ref>

== Basic Tenents of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics ==

# The theory of the predominance of public ownership and distribution according to work
# The theory of the adherence of the leadership of the Communist Party of China and the rules of Party-building
# The theory of class struggle in the socialist society and the people's democratic dictatorship
# The theory of strengthening mainstream socialist ideology under the guidance of Marxism
# The theory of the primary stage of socialism
# The theory of reform, opening up, and a socialist market economy
# The theory of building a socialist democracy and legal system
# The theory of scientific development and the building of a harmonious socialist society
# The theory of international cooperation and maintaining close ties with the political parties of the working class in other countries.<ref>Marxism and Socialism with Chinese Characteristics by Jin Huiming, Chapter 1: Marxism and Its Great Significance in the Contemporary World, p 21</ref>

== The Main Themes ==

==== First, Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the historical choice of the party and the people. ====

The flag represents the image, and the flag represents the direction. Comrade [[Mao Zedong]] once said: <blockquote>"Doctrine is like a flag. Only when the flag is erected can everyone have something to look forward to and know where to go." </blockquote>As early as the beginning of the 20th century, Chinese people with lofty ideals who sought to save China's development once held up such a flag. Such a "flag" did not lead China to the light. Later, the Russian October Revolution sent a great banner to China - Marxism-Leninism.

==== Second, Firmly establish confidence in the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. ====
The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics has been explored by our party and people through untold hardships and at enormous cost. The road of socialism with Chinese characteristics is under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, based on the basic national conditions, focusing on economic construction, adhering to the four basic principles, adhering to reform and opening up, liberating and developing social productive forces, building a socialist market economy, socialist democratic politics, Socialist advanced culture, socialist harmonious society, and socialist ecological civilization promote the all-round development of people, gradually realize the common prosperity of all people, and build a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, and harmonious modern socialist country.

==== Third, Firmly establish confidence in the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics. ====
Scientific theory comes from great practice, and at the same time it guides practice in turn. The theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a scientific theoretical system formed by organically combining the basic principles of Marxism with the practice of reform, opening up and socialist modernization in contemporary China. It includes Deng Xiaoping Theory, the important thought of "Three Represents", the scientific outlook on development and the Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, with Comrade Xi Jinping as the core, the Party Central Committee has adopted new ideas, new ideas, and new strategies for state governance.

==== Fourth, Firmly establish confidence in the instutitonal system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. ====
The system of socialism with Chinese characteristics is an institutional system with Chinese characteristics established on the basis of the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics and guided by the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It embodies the nature, characteristics and advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is the fundamental institutional guarantee for the development and progress of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The institutional system of Socialism with Chinese characteristics, includes the fundamental political system of the people's congres, the multi-party cooperation and political consultation system led by the Communist Party of China, the regional ethnic autonomy system, and the grassroots mass autonomy system and other basic political systems. The socialist legal system with Chinese characteristics and with public ownership being the main stay of the economic system. The economic system, political system, cultural system, and social system are all based upon the instutitional system of socialism with Chinese Characteristics

==== Fifth, Firmly establish the confidence of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics. ====
Culture is the blood of a nation and the spiritual home of the people. To uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, in addition to upholding and developing its path, theory and system, we must also uphold and develop the spiritual civilization and advanced culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and we must maintain cultural confidence. Enhancing cultural awareness and cultural self-confidence is part of the problem of strengthening road self-confidence, theoretical self-confidence, and institutional self-confidence, because the essence of firm road self-confidence, theoretical self-confidence, and institutional self-confidence is based on cultural self-confidence.

Just as General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: <blockquote>"To strengthen the self-confidence in the road, theory and system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, in the final analysis, we must uphold cultural self-confidence...Cultural self-confidence is a more basic, broader and deeper self-confidence."</blockquote>

==== Sixth, we must correctly understand and grasp the staged characteristics of China's development. ====
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: <blockquote>"To understand and grasp the staged characteristics of Chinese social development, we must adhere to the methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, think from the combination of history and reality, theory and practice, domestic and international, etc. Think from the historical perspective of social development, think from the overall situation of the development of the party and the country, and draw correct conclusions.”</blockquote>

==== Finally, we must unswervingly strive for the realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. ====
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the whole party must continue to coordinate and promote the overall layout of the "five in one" and the strategic layout of the "four comprehensive" in a coordinated manner to win the decisive victory in building a well-off society in an all-round way, to win the great victory of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The Chinese dream is unremitting struggle. To grasp the theme is to deepen the theme and expand the theme. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a major theme and a major article that keeps advancing with the times. Continuing to advance this major theme and write this major article well is an important responsibility and a great mission that history has entrusted to contemporary Chinese Communists.<ref>[Experts talk] [https://www.hudong.com/page/reference_snapshot?wiki_doc_id=4963320418269995661&ref_url=http%3A%2F%2Fopinion.people.com.cn%2Fn1%2F2017%2F1103%2Fc1003-29625939.html&collect_params=%22%7B%5C%22search_query%5C%22%3A%5C%22%5C%22%2C%5C%22search_id%5C%22%3A%5C%22%5C%22%2C%5C%22source%5C%22%3A%5C%22%5C%22%2C%5C%22doc_title%5C%22%3A%5C%22%5C%22%2C%5C%22doc_id%5C%22%3A%5C%22%5C%22%2C%5C%22view_id%5C%22%3A%5C%22%5C%22%2C%5C%22first_classify%5C%22%3A%5C%22%5C%22%2C%5C%22second_classify%5C%22%3A%5C%22%5C%22%2C%5C%22third_classify%5C%22%3A%5C%22%5C%22%7D%22 Firmly grasp the theme of socialism with Chinese characteristics .] Viewpoints - People's Daily Online [cited date 2019-11-09 ]</ref>

== Socialist market economy ==
'''[[Socialist market economy]]''' (Chinese: 社会主义市场经济; Pinyin: Shèhuìzhǔyì Shìchǎng Jīngjì) is the official term of the government of the [[People's Republic of China]] for the economic system implemented in the country. It was first proposed by [[Jiang Zemin]], then General Secretary of the Central Committee of the [[Communist Party of China]] , in the report of the 14th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 1992. It is an important policy of [[Reform and Opening Up|Reform and opening up]], being a core part of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.<ref>[https://www.wxyjs.org.cn/dhgjzyldryj_558/201207/t20120712_17005.htm <nowiki>Jiang Zemin and the Establishment of the Socialist Market Economic System . "Party Literature" Issue 5, 2010. 2013-09-06 [ 2016-11-25 ] .</nowiki>]</ref>

The system is a market economy with the predominance of public ownership and state-owned enterprises. Originating in the Chinese economic reforms initiated in 1978 that integrated China into the global market economy, the socialist market economy represents a preliminary or "primary stage" of developing socialism. <ref>[http://english.mofcom.gov.cn/article/topic/bizchina/economicsystem/200406/20040600239133.shtml "Socialist Market Economic System". Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China. 25 June 2004. Retrieved 7 March 2018. <q>The development of the economic system with public ownership playing a dominant role and diverse forms of ownership developing side by side is a basic characteristic of the socialist economic system at the preliminary stage…The public economy consists not only the state-owned economy and the collective economy, but also the state-owned and collective component in the mixed-ownership economy. The dominant position of the public ownership is represented that: the public assets have a dominant proportion in the overall assets of the society; the state-owned economy controls the lifeline of the national economy and plays a leading role in the economic development, as is from the aspect of the whole country.</q>]</ref>

== Common Prosperity ==
[[Common prosperity|'''Common Prosperity''']] (Simplified Chinese: 共同富裕; Pinyin: gòng tóng fù yù) means that all people finally achieve a standard of living with sufficient food and clothing through hard work and mutual help , that is, universal prosperity based on the elimination of polarization and poverty. It is one of the core values of Socialism with Chinese characteristics.<ref>[https://baike.baidu.com/reference/7790098/d089p9C0kqKcXDNNNj5MO_qG5qeNeu8l-z4WTVw4wX2ASdmJIj2sejFM0vnaLktDm5uI3X3gYY1Wd5aeIQpMLNM Common Prosperity - Chinese Dictionary definition]</ref>

Common prosperity allows some people and some regions get rich first, and those who get rich first help those who get rich later, so as to gradually realize common prosperity. Common prosperity is the essential requirement and goal of socialism, as well as the fundamental principle of Chinese socialism.<ref>"Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping", Volume 3, People's Publishing House, 1993 Edition, No. Page 110-111, 142, 364, 373, 64, 374, 374, 155, 23 P</ref>

== Mao Zedong Thought ==
'''[[Mao Zedong Thought]]''' (Simplified Chinese: 毛泽东思想; Pinyin: Máo Zédōng sīxiǎng) is a development of [[Marxism–Leninism|Marxism-Leninism]] adapted for the material conditions of [[China]]. Mao Zedong Thought was originally developed by [[Mao Zedong]] and other leading members within the CPC. Mao Zedong thought is ultimately the Sinicization of Marxism. The belief that the [[Communist Party of China|Party]] should adapt the basic principles of Marxism to China's reality. Marxism is the system of socialism with a scientific world outlook. It is a practical Marxist philosophy, with it being applied to the material conditions of China through it being sinicized.

==== New Democracy ====
[[New Democracy|The New Democracy]] (Chinese: 新民主主义; Pinyin:Xīn mínzhǔ zhǔyì) is a [[Revolution|revolutionary]] form of [[State|government]] developed by [[Mao Zedong]], based on the alliance of 4 [[Progressivism|progressive]] [[Social class|classes]] (the [[proletariat]] as the ideological core, the [[peasantry]], the urban [[petty bourgeoisie]] and the [[national bourgeoisie]]) in [[semi-feudal]] and [[semi-colonial]] countries. The goal of New Democracy is to advance to the [[dictatorship of the proletariat]] through the dictatorship of the 4 classes or the [[Dictatorship of the proletariat#People's%20Democratic%20Dictatorship|people's democratic dictatorship]].<ref>Mao Zedong (1993). ''The New Democratic Revolution'': 'Tasks of the Chinese Revolution' (Turkish: Yeni Demokratik Devrim) (p. 48). The Umut Publishing.</ref>

==== The Mass Line ====
[[Mass line|The Mass Line]] (Simplified Chinese: 群众路线; Pinyin: qúnzhòng lùxiàn) is the political, organizational and leadership method developed by [[Mao Zedong]] and the [[Communist Party of China]] (CPC) during the [[Chinese]] revolution. The essential element of the mass line is consulting the masses, interpreting their suggestions within the framework of [[Marxism–Leninism]], and then enforcing the resulting policies. It is a basic part of Mao Zedong Thought , one of the guiding ideologies of the Communist Party of China, and is declared by the Communist Party of Chinato be one of the three basic aspects of the "living soul" of Mao Zedong Thought. Summarized by Mao Zedong as "all for the masses, everything depends on the masses" and "from the masses, to the masses"<ref>"Resolution on Several Historical Issues Concerning the Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic of China"</ref>

==== The Sinicization of Marxism ====
The Sinicization of Marxism (Chinese: 中国化马克思主义; Pinyin: Zhōngguó huà mǎkèsī zhǔyì) was formally put forward by Ai Siqi in April, 1938 and firmly put forward in 1941. The Sinicization of Marxism is simply applying dialectical materialism to China’s reality, develop the world outlook of dialectics and historical materialism on China’s own territory according to China’s own material conditions, so that it can become a way to create a New China.

In the process of Sinicization of Marxism, Mao Zedong’s philosophical thought and the philosophical thought of socialism with Chinese characteristics came into being. These two achievements play an important role in guiding China’s progress.<ref>[https://www.davidpublisher.com/Public/uploads/Contribute/63293053daca4.pdf On the Characteristics and Laws of the Sinicization of Marxism] - Xiao Ping, Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, Shanghai, China. Published by David Publishing</ref>

==== People's Democratic Dictatorship ====
People's democratic dictatorship (simplified Chinese: 人民民主专政; traditional Chinese: 人民民主專政; pinyin: ''Rénmín Mínzhǔ Zhuānzhèng'') is a phrase incorporated into the Constitution of the [[People's Republic of China]]. The concept of people's democratic dictatorship is rooted in the "new" type of democracy promoted by [[Mao Zedong]] in Yan'an during the [[Chinese Civil War]].

At its founding the PRC took the form of a people's democratic dictatorship. In the Chinese political framework, revolutionary consciousness and revolutionary activity distinguish "the people" from counter-revolutionaries. Within the PRC, the democracy includes united revolutionary classes and supportive political parties operating under the leadership of the CPC. It could include [[workers]], [[peasants]], [[intellectuals]], [[petty bourgeoisie]], and even [[national bourgeoisie]] who supported the revolutionary project.

== Deng Xiaoping Theory ==
[[Deng Xiaoping Theory]] (Chinese: 邓小平理论; pinyin: ''Dèng Xiǎopíng Lǐlùn'') was formulated by the "Architect of Reform" [[Deng Xiaoping]] to better account for the socioeconomic conditions of [[People's Republic of China|China]] during the time period of him being party chairman.<ref>Zhang Wei Wei (1966). ''Ideology and economic reform under Deng Xiaoping, 1978–1993''.</ref>

==== The 4 Cardinal Principles ====
The '''[[Four Cardinal Principles]]''' (simplified Chinese: 四项基本原则; traditional Chinese: 四項基本原則; pinyin: ''Sì-xiàng Jīběn Yuánzé'') were stated by Deng Xiaoping in March 1979, during the early phase of Reform and Opening-up, and are the four issues for which debate was not allowed within the People's Republic of China. The Four Cardinal Principles were one of Deng's Two Basic Points, the other of which was Reform and Opening.<ref name=":9">[[:en:Deng_Xiaoping_Theory#cite_note-:0-2|Uphold the Four Cardinal Principles, Deng Xiao Ping, 1979]]</ref>

The principles include:

# The principle of upholding the [[communist]] path.
# The principle of upholding the people's democratic dictatorship.
# The principle of upholding the leadership of the [[Communist Party of China]] (CPC).
# The principle of upholding [[Mao Zedong Thought]] and [[Marxism–Leninism]].<ref name=":9" />

==== The 4 Modernizations ====
The '''[[Four Modernizations]]''' (simplified Chinese: 四个现代化; traditional Chinese: 四個現代化) namely the modernization of agriculture, science and technology, defense and industry, are the national strategic goals proposed by the [[Communist Party of China]] and the [[People's Republic of China]] from the 1950s to the 1960s.<ref name=":10">[https://web.archive.org/web/20200527141216/http://cpc.people.com.cn/GB/64156/64157/4418435.html How did the "Four Modernizations" come about? - People's Daily Online.]</ref> Zhou Enlai first put forward the concept of "four modernizations" in the "Government Work Report " made at the First Session of the Third National People's Congress in September 1954. At the beginning of reform and opening up , Deng Xiaoping allowed the "four modernizations" to become the focus of the work of the party and the government.<ref name=":10" />

==== Moderately Prosperous Society ====
[[Moderately prosperous society]] or Xiaokang society (Chinese: 小康社会; pinyin: ''Xiǎokāng Shèhuì''), is a Chinese term, originally from Confucianism, used to describe a society composed of a functional middle-class. In December 1979, Deng Xiaoping, then paramount leader of China, first proposed the idea of "Xiaokang" based on the "Four Modernizations".<ref>[http://cpc.people.com.cn/n/2014/0714/c69113-25279758.html From "well-off" to "all-round well-off "- A discussion on the formation and development of Deng Xiaoping's theory of well-off society] - People's Daily</ref>

A well-off society is not a general and vague statement. He Keng, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics, said in an interview that in 1991, the National Bureau of Statistics and researchers from 12 departments including planning, finance, health, and education were formed. In accordance with the connotation of a well-off society proposed by the Party Central Committee and the State Council, 16 basic monitoring indicators and the critical value of a well-off society were established.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20210828053301/https://cn.govopendata.com/renminribao/2002/11/18/9/#1251293 In a large developing country with a population of more than 1.2 billion, people's lives have generally reached a moderately prosperous level. In the new century, we will build a well-off society in an all-round way on this basis. What does it look like to be well-off in an all-round way—Interview with He Keng, deputy director of the National Bureau of Statistics.]</ref>

==== Reform and Opening Up ====
'''[[Reform and Opening Up|Reform and opening-up]]''' (Chinese: 改革开放; pinyin: ''Gǎigé kāifàng'') was proposed and founded by Deng Xiaoping , the second-generation paramount leader of the People's Republic of China . It was a series of economic-oriented reform measures that were implemented after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on December 18, 1978. It can be summarized as "Reform internally and open externally".<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20191021220420/http://dangshi.people.com.cn/n1/2019/0123/c85037-30586524.html Deng Xiaoping and the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China - People's Daily Online]</ref>

It was proposed in order to deal with the main problems the country faced at the time: namely a very poor population, the lack of an industrial base, and the lack of a large urban population (80% of the population lived in rural areas at the time). Deng Xiaoping saw that the country was still too underdeveloped to build [[Socialism]] where premature collectivization has brought antagonistic contradictions between the relations of production and the social character of the productive forces. The idea was proposed of implementing market policies in order to build the productive forces in order to eventually be able to build Socialism.

==== One Center, Two Basic Points ====
'''[[One center, Two Basic Points|One Center, Two Basic Points]]''' (Simplified Chinese: 一个中心、两个基本点; Pinyin: Yīgè zhōngxīn, liǎng gè jīběn diǎn)is the core content of the Communist Party of China's basic line. One center refers to Socialist construction as the center; two basic points refers to adhering to the four basic principles and adhering to reform and opening up. The unity of the two basic points is the complete content of the line of the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, in November 1, 1987.<ref>[https://baike.baidu.com/reference/10749314/73e0e1jOG4q2rvMWixLj2cAwJFrVPpS8hW7povMvYsthgVNQlYJI1RFmr3GTv0eg87TCqN5mJkL4yh0tJYERUfpMSg_1C8MTEAMPQCM The Thirteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China--The Thirteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China--People's Daily Online ]</ref>

Here are 4 basic things to know regarding it:

(1) The concise summary of the party's basic line in the primary stage of socialism is "one center, two basic points".

(2) Socialist construction is the center of the work of the whole party and the country, and Socialist construction is the core and main body of the basic line.

(3) The four basic principles are the foundation of a country and provide political guarantee for modernization; reform and opening up is the only way for China to modernize and provide impetus for modernization.

(4) "One center, two basic points" are interdependent and indispensable. They are all for the better liberation and development of productive forces to improve the material standards of the people, unified in the great practice of building socialism with Chinese characteristics.

==== Primary stage of socialism ====

===== During the Mao era =====
The term '''"Primary Stage of Socialism"''' (Chinese: 社会主义初级阶段; Pinyin: Shèhuì zhǔyì chūjí jiēduàn) was only briefly mentioned by Chairman Mao, While discussing the necessity of commodity relations at the 1st Zhengzhou Conference held between 2 and 10 November 1958. He specifically mentioned the "initial stage of socialism" <ref>{{Citation|author=Li Gu Cheng|year=1995|title=A Glossary of Political Terms of the People's Republic of China.|page=400|city=Hong Kong|publisher=Chinese University Press|isbn=962202615X, 9789622026155|trans-lang=Chinese}}</ref>

===== After Mao's death =====
The term had been used by the CPC during the Anti-Spiritual Pollution Campaign of 1983 but had never been explained. After consulting with [[Deng Xiaoping]], the theory of a primary stage of socialism was used as the theoretical basis of the Political Report to the 13th National Congress held in 1987. The theory focused mainly on developing the productive forces and took a highly economic deterministic view on developing socialism.

Despite certain pitfalls, the theory is still used to explain the use of capitalist techniques in China. The main aim of the theory was to reconceptualize socialism to make Marxism fit for contemporary use. Su and Zhang Xiangyang said the primary stage of socialism in China began in the 1950s when the CPC put an end to the policies of New Democracy and would last an estimated 100 years. The previous emphasis on economic equality in favour of economic growth was abandoned. Deng stated:<blockquote>"Of the many lessons we have to sum up, a very important one is this: we should make clear what is socialism and how to build socialism ... The primary task of socialism is to develop production forces and to elevate the standard of the material and cultural life of the people. Our twenty years of experience from 1958 to 1976 have told us: poverty is not socialism, socialism is to eliminate poverty. It is not socialism to not develop production forces and raise the people's living standards."</blockquote>By this point, Deng had equated upholding socialism with developing the level of the productive forces; the ideal of common equality was postponed until an unspecified time. Su and Zhang reached similar conclusions, saying that Marx had two goals when he wrote about the socialist future: a social system in which the productive forces developed and the individual would be granted a great chance of self-development.

However, developing the productive forces became the precondition for the greater self-learning of the individual through common equality; Su and Zhang said that the former would lead to the latter. The left were generally pleased with the theory, which was based upon orthodox Marxist premises. However, some people on the right considered the theory was proof that China needed to reintroduce capitalism to build socialism. Marx had written that socialism developed from capitalism, but China had skipped the capitalist mode of production and went from feudalism to socialism.<ref>{{Citation|author=Sun, Yan|year=1995|title=The Chinese Reassessment of Socialism, 1976–1992.|page=195 - 204|city=Princeton, New Jersey, United States of America|publisher=Princeton University Press|isbn=0691029989}}</ref>

== The 3 Represents ==
The '''[[Three Represents]]''' or '''the important thought of Three Represents''' (Chinese: 三个代表; Pinyin: Sān ge dàibiǎo) is a guiding socio-political theory within China credited to then-general secretary of the Communist Party of China, Jiang Zemin, which was ratified at the 16th Party Congress in 2002. The "Three Represents" defines the role of the CPC. Jiang Zemin first introduced his theory on 25 February 2000 while on an inspection tour in Maoming, Guangdong province.<ref>Selected Works of Jiang Zemin, Eng. ed., FLP, Beijing, 2013, Vol. III, p. 519.</ref>

==== Core Ideas ====
The important thought of "Three Represents" requires the Communist Party of China

* It must always represent the development requirements of China's advanced social productive forces
* It must always represent the direction of China's advanced culture
* We must always represent the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the Chinese people.<ref>People's Daily Online - Theoretical Channel. [https://web.archive.org/web/20161029112437/http://theory.people.com.cn/n/2012/1028/c350808-19413196.html Comrade Jiang Zemin proposed that the party should always represent the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the people in China]</ref>

==== Main Content ====

# Development is the party's top priority in governing and rejuvenating the country.
# Establish a socialist market economic system.
# Building a moderately prosperous society.
# Build a socialist political civilization.
# Promote the new great project of party building.

==== Justification of the Three Represents ====
The Communist Party of China believes that the "Three Represents" is the inheritance and development of Marxism-Leninism , Mao Zedong Thought and Deng Xiaoping Theory , reflecting the new requirements of the development and changes of the contemporary world and China for the work of the CPC. It is an important theoretical weapon to promote the self-improvement and development of socialism in China, and it is the crystallization of the collective wisdom of the Communist Party of China.

In Jiang's speech on the "Three Represents" on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the CCP, he claimed that the expansion of "working class" would help the party remain advanced as the vanguard of the working class by expanding its popular support and increasing its social influence. Jiang made a statement on the concept of the working class that it includes intellectuals:<ref>[http://www.china.org.cn/e-speech/a.htm "Jiang Zemin's Speech at the Meeting Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China China"]. ''China Internet Information Center''.</ref> <blockquote>“With intellectuals being part of the working class, the scientific, technical and educational level of the working class has been raised considerably... Consequently some workers have changed their jobs. But this has not changed the status of the Chinese working class. On the contrary, this will serve to improve the overall quality of the working class and give play to its advantages as a group in the long run. The Chinese working class has always been the basic force for promoting the advanced productive forces in China. Our Party must remain the vanguard of the working class and unswervingly and wholeheartedly rely on the working class.”</blockquote>

== The Scientific Outlook on Development ==
The '''[[Scientific Outlook on Development]]''' (Chinese: 科学发展观; pinyin: ''Kēxué Fāzhǎn Guān'') is one of the guiding socio-economic principles of the Communist Party of China(CPC), credited to former Chinese leader [[Hu Jintao]] and his administration, who was in power from 2002 to 2012. The ideology was ratified into the CPC constitution at the 17th Party Congress in October 2007. It is lauded by the Chinese government as a successor and extension ideology to Marxism–Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory and the Three Represents.<ref>[http://english.people.com.cn/102774/8024779.html Hu Jintao (19 November 2012). "Full text of Hu Jintao's report at 18th Party Congress"]. People's Daily.</ref>

==== Core Ideology ====
Humanism is at the center of the scientific development concept. The people-oriented concept is "to take the interests of the people as the starting point and end point of all work, to continuously meet people's multifaceted needs and promote the overall development of people." It includes 4 specific aspects:<ref>[https://archive.ph/MX8A Wen Jiabao (29 February 2004). "Wēn Jiābǎo: Láogù shùlì hé rènzhēn luòshí kēxué fāzhǎn guān"] <bdi>温家宝：牢固树立和认真落实科学发展观</bdi></ref>

* On the basis of economic development, continuously improve the people's material and cultural living standards and health standards
* Respect and protect human rights, including the political, economic and cultural rights of citizens
* Continuously improve people's ideological and moral quality, scientific and cultural quality and health quality
* Create a social environment where people develop equally and give full play to their intelligence

==== People Oriented ====
'''People Oriented ('''Chinese: 以人为本; pinyin: Yǐrénwéiběn) means to take the interests of the people as the starting point and foothold of all work, to continuously meet people's various needs and promote the all-round development of people; to be comprehensive means to continuously improve the socialist market economic system and maintain a sustained, rapid, coordinated and healthy economy while developing.

To speed up the construction of political civilization and spiritual civilization to form a pattern of mutual promotion and common development of material civilization, political civilization and spiritual civilization; coordination means to coordinate urban and rural coordinated development, regional coordinated development, economic and social coordinated development, and domestic development.

And opening up to the outside world; sustainability means coordinating the harmonious development of man and nature, properly handling the relationship between economic construction, population growth, resource utilization, and ecological environment protection, and promoting the entire society to embark on a civilized development path of production development, affluent life, and good ecology.<ref>[https://baike.baidu.com/reference/317422/19e8q6qA7GM9VWo1OrmlkAKZckFPinYJhlrWQu-vwqDIjc9bM7vHM7yStTYK2njKXMc9rTCb_BKQYJUHzzZlvyHWjDBxTchE48epFhr6uR7d7qwsv2skDwlb4WU7DDXKuQ Scientific Outlook on Development] - China Taiwan Network </ref>

==== Socialist Harmonious Society ====
'''The Socialist Harmonious Society ('''Chinese: 和谐社会; pinyin: ''héxié shèhuì) ,'' is a strategic goal of social development proposed by the Communist Party of China in 2004 , which refers to a harmonious and harmonious social state in which all classes work together. On September 19, 2004, at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China , the concept of “persisting in mobilizing all positive factors in the broadest and most complete way, and continuously improving the ability to build a harmonious socialist society ” was formally put forward<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20040923054518/http://news.xinhuanet.com/newscenter/2004-09/19/content_1995366_1.htm "Communique of the Fourth Plenary Session" of the 16th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China .] Xinhuanet. 2014-09-19 [ 2015-10-19 ] . </ref>

The formulation of a harmonious society aims to point out the common interests accepted by all walks of life for the confused direction of reform. Prior to this, people repeatedly debated between "fairness" and "efficiency". There is no doubt that at the beginning of the reform and opening up , the CPC’s policy was to “prioritize efficiency and give consideration to fairness.” As a result, while achieving construction achievements, social injustice occurred, and the problem has hindered the deepening of reform.

Harmonious society is quite specific to the current Chinese society. The equalization of basic public services including education, medical care, social security and other social hotspots , as well as the system of guaranteeing democratic rights and widening channels for the expression of social conditions and public opinions are the specific contents of the theory of harmonious society.

==== The 8 Honors and 8 Shames ====
The 8 Honors and 8 Shames (simplified Chinese: 八荣八耻; pinyin: bā róng bā chǐ) is a set of concepts and guidelines put in place by Hu Jintao, used to measure the work, conduct and attitude of Chinese citizens and CPC members. <ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080303120342/http://news3.xinhuanet.com/english/2006-10/18/content_5220576.htm CPC promotes "core value system" to lay moral foundation for social harmony] - Xinhua.net</ref>

The 8 Honors and 8 Shames are as follows:

# Love your nation; do it no harm.
# Serve the people; never betray them
# Follow science; discard superstition
# Be diligent; not indolent
# Be united and help each other; make no gains at another's expense
# Be honest and trustworthy; do not sacrifice ethics for profit
# Be disciplined and law-abiding; not chaotic and lawless
# Live plainly, work hard; do not wallow in luxuries and pleasures.

The Party stressed Hu's list of eight honors and disgraces in the resolutions, saying that these virtues including patriotism, professional dedication and honesty should be further promoted and government, business and social credibility should be enhanced.

== Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Age ==
[[Xi Jinping Thought|Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era]] (Simplified Chinese:习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想; Pinyin: Xíjìnpíng xīn shídài zhōngguó tèsè shèhuì zhǔyì sīxiǎng) is a further socio-political formulation of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics. It is the successor of Mao Zedong thought, Deng Xiaoping theory, The 3 Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development.

==== The 14 Point Program ====
The concepts behind Xi Jinping Thought were elaborated in Xi's ''[[The Governance of China]]'' book series, published by the [[Foreign Languages Press]] for an international audience. Volume one was published in September 2014, followed by volume two in November 2017, followed by volume three in June 2020.<ref>[http://www.straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia/19th-party-congress-xi-jinping-outlines-new-thought-on-socialism-with-chinese-traits Goh, Sui Noi (18 October 2017). "19th Party Congress: Xi Jinping outlines new thought on socialism with Chinese traits".] ''Straits Times''.</ref>

# Ensuring Communist Party of China leadership over all forms of work in China.
# The Communist Party of China should take a people-centric approach for the public interest.
# The continuation of "comprehensive deepening of reforms".
# Adopting new science-based ideas for "innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared development".
# Following "[[socialism with Chinese characteristics]]" with "people as the masters of the country".
# Governing China with the Rule of Law.
# "Practise [[Core Socialist Values|socialist core values]]", including [[Marxism-Leninism]] and socialism with Chinese characteristics.
# "Improving people's livelihood and well-being is the primary goal of development".
# Coexist well with nature with "energy conservation and environmental protection" policies and "contribute to global ecological safety".
# Strengthen the national security of China.
# The Communist Party of China should have "absolute leadership over" China's [[People's Liberation Army]].
# Promoting the one country, two systems system for [[Hong Kong]] and [[Macau]] with a future of "complete [[Chinese unification|national reunification]]" and to follow the [[One China|One-China principle]] and [[1992 Consensus]] for [[Taiwan]].
# Establish a common destiny between the Chinese people and other peoples around the world with a "peaceful international environment".
# Improve party discipline in the Communist Party of China.

==== The Four Comprehensives ====
The Four Comprehensives, or the Four-pronged Comprehensive Strategy (Chinese: 四个全面战略布局) is a list of political goals for China, put forward by Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in 2014. They are:<ref>[https://www.guancha.cn/culture/2015_05_04_318218.shtml "今年首批中央文献重要术语"外语版"出炉共30个". ''www.guancha.cn''.] Retrieved April 8, 2016.</ref>

# Comprehensively build a moderately prosperous society
# Comprehensively deepen reform
# Comprehensively govern the nation according to law
# Comprehensively strictly govern the Party.

==== The Two Establishes and the Two Safeguards ====
Two Establishes (Chinese: 两个确立; Pinyin: Liǎng gè quèlì ) and Two Safeguards (Chinese: 两个维护; Pinyin: Liǎng gè wéihù) are two political slogans promoted by the CPC to reinforce Comrade Xi Jinping's tenure. According to the CPC historical resolution, the Two Establishes are:

# "To establish the status of Comrade Xi Jinping as the core of the Party’s Central Committee and of the whole Party"
# "To establish the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for the New Era"

According to the Sixth Plenum of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC, the Two Safeguards are:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20220729191420/https://chinamediaproject.org/the_ccp_dictionary/two-establishes/ "Two Establishes". ''China Media Project''.]</ref>

# "Safeguard the 'core' status of General Secretary Xi Jinping within the CPC"
# "To safeguard the centralized authority of the Party"

During the 20th National Congress of the CPC, the Two Safeguards was added to the CPC Constitution.<ref>[http://cpc.people.com.cn/20th/n1/2022/1026/c448334-32552477.html "中国共产党章程--中国共产党第二十次全国代表大会专题报道--人民网"]. ''People's Daily''</ref>

==== Chinese Dream ====
The [[Chinese Dream]] (simplified Chinese: 中国梦; traditional Chinese: 中國夢; pinyin: ''Zhōngguó Mèng'') is a term closely associated with [[Xi Jinping]] which conveys the aspirations of [[People's Republic of China|China]] to rejuvenate itself and become a [[Moderately Prosperous Society|moderately prosperous society]]. Xi began promoting the phrase as a slogan during a high-profile tour of an exhibit at the National Museum of China in November 2012, shortly after he became leader of the [[Communist Party of China|CPC]].<ref>[https://www.cnn.com/2014/03/14/world/asia/chinese-dream-anniversary-xi-jinping-president Xie, Tao (14 March 2014). "Opinion: Is President Xi Jinping's Chinese dream fantasy or reality?"] – CNN</ref>

== See also ==

* [[Quotes:Socialism with Chinese Characteristics|Quotes on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics]]
* [[Reform and Opening Up]]
* [[Socialist market economy]]

== Further reading ==

* ''[[Library:The Basic Economic System of China|The Basic Economic System of China]]''
* ''[[Library:The governance of China|The Governance of China]]''
* ''[[Library:Marxism and Socialism with Chinese Characteristics|Marxism and Socialism with Chinese Characteristics]]''

== References ==
[[Category:Outline needs additional content]]
[[Category:Ideology of the Communist Party of China]]
<references />
[[Category:Left-wing ideologies]]
[[Category:Mao Zedong Thought]]
[[Category:Marxism–Leninism]]
[[Category:Pages to be protected]]

Communist Party (Britain)

2025-09-06T00:57:06Z

185.187.243.143:

{{Infobox political party|name=Communist Party of Britain|native_name=Plaid Gomiwnyddol Prydain|logo=CommunistParty(Britain)newlogo.jpg|founded=1988|abbreviation=CPB|general_secretary=[[Robert Griffiths]]|newspaper=[[Morning Star]]|youth_wing=[[Young Communist League]]|international=[[IMCWP]]|website=https://www.communistparty.org.uk|twitter=cpbritain|youtube=https://www.youtube.com/c/CommunistParty|facebook=https://www.facebook.com/CPBritain/|instagram=cpbritain|political_orientation=[[Marxism–Leninism]] (de jure) [[Revisionism]] [[Reformism]] (de facto)}}{{Communist parties}}The '''Communist Party of Britain''' ('''CPB'''), now called the '''Communist Party''' is a [[Revisionism|revisionist]] [[communist party]] in the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland|United Kingdom]].<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Lalkar]]|title=The revolutionary programmes of British Communism|date=2008-01|url=http://www.lalkar.org/article/853/the-revolutionary-programmesof-british-communism|quote=On the question of the Soviet Union the current BRS says “The collapse of the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialism was a severe setback from which Communists have had to draw many lessons. Those societies certainly had many faults – not least their restriction of democracy – which contributed to their downfall”.

While on the need for the forceful revolutionary overthrow of British imperialism it states “decisive advances towards socialism can only be achieved by mobilising the mass of the people in support of an intermediate alternative economic and political strategy which aims at securing full employment, a general improvement in living standards, a wide expansion of democracy and a genuine policy for peace” unfortunately the CPB are among those today misleading the workers by claiming that peace can be achieved without revolution, which obviously means that imperialism, according to them, does not lead to war. This is anti-Leninist rubbish which flies in the face of common sense (at least the 1951 version did not have the example of the Pinochet coup in Chile staring them in the face to show what happens to ‘Left’ governments who try to use bourgeois parliamentary methods to advance socialist orientated policies peacefully).}}</ref> It is one of the largest [[Communism|communist]] parties in Britain. It claims the legacy of the original [[Communist Party of Great Britain]] (CPGB), which was dissolved in 1991. The CPB believes itself to be a continuation of the CPGB and officially considers its founding year to be 1920, not 1988.

In 2023, the Communist Party of Britain rebranded with a new logo and changed their name to the Communist Party.

==Britain's Road to Socialism==
The party's program is ''Britain’s Road to Socialism'' (BRS), which was first published by the CPGB in 1951. It was iteratively revised by the CPGB, then subsequently the CPB, who published its ninth and latest edition in 2020.<ref name=":2" /> The [[Young Communist League]] and the ''[[Morning Star]]'' are bound to follow the program.

Since its first edition the BRS has been a revisionist program. In the first edition it put forward the erroneous views that a non-violent parliamentary road to [[socialism]] (''not'' revolution) was the way for British workers to gain power,<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Lalkar]]|title=The revolutionary programmes of British Communism|date=2008-01|url=http://www.lalkar.org/article/853/the-revolutionary-programmesof-british-communism|quote=On the question of overthrowing the bourgeoisie the 1951 BRS had also lost its way claiming such things as the British people “can transform capitalist democracy into a real People’s Democracy, transforming Parliament, the product of Britain’s historic struggle for democracy, into the democratic instrument of the will of the vast majority of the people” and “The path forward for the British people will be to establish a People’s Government on the basis of a Parliament truly representative of the people” and further “A people’s Parliament and Government which draws its strength from a united movement of the people, with the working class as its core, will be able to mobilise the overwhelming majority of the people for decisive measures to break the economic and political power of the big exploiters”. After this non-violent revolution clap-trap there is, of course, no mention of the need for the dictatorship of the proletariat.}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author=[[Ranjeet Brar]]|year=2020|title=Britain’s Road to Socialism?|title-url=https://thecommunists.org/2022/09/27/news/theory/book-britains-road-to-socialism/|chapter=The original sin of the BRS|page=12|pdf=https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3.cpgb-ml.org/BritainsRoadtoSocialism_read.pdf|publisher=[[CPGB-ML]]|isbn=978-1-913286-07-1}}</ref> and a erroneously regurgitated understanding of [[Vladimir Lenin|Lenin's]] thesis of [[imperialism]], particularly on the question of peace.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=[[Lalkar]]|title=The revolutionary programmes of British Communism|date=2008-01|url=http://www.lalkar.org/article/853/the-revolutionary-programmesof-british-communism|quote=The 1951 BRS first put forward the idea that “a third world war is neither necessary nor inevitable” claiming that the peoples united action “can be decisive for peace”. It is interesting to note that many of the revisionists, usually among the first to attack Stalin, claim, presumably to prove that neither they nor their cherished programme are revisionist, that Joseph Stalin either wrote the 1951 BRS or told a Labour Party delegation to the Soviet Union that he approved of it, we will let comrade Stalin answer that particular fiction, in one of his last works, Economic Problems Of Socialism In The USSR written around 1951-2 he, tackling exactly the above notions, says “What guarantee is there, then, that Germany and Japan will not rise to their feet again, will not attempt to break out of American bondage and live their own independent lives? I think there is no such guarantee.

“But it follows from this that the inevitability of wars between capitalist countries remains in force.

“It is said that Lenin’s thesis that imperialism inevitably generates war must now be regarded as obsolete, since powerful popular forces have come forward today in defence of peace and against another world war. That is not true.}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author=[[Ranjeet Brar]]|year=2022|title=Britain’s Road to Socialism?|title-url=https://thecommunists.org/2022/09/27/news/theory/book-britains-road-to-socialism/|chapter=(Mis)understanding imperialism|chapter-url=https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3.cpgb-ml.org/BritainsRoadtoSocialism_read.pdf|page=35|pdf=https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3.cpgb-ml.org/BritainsRoadtoSocialism_read.pdf|publisher=[[CPGB-ML]]|isbn=978-1-913286-07-1}}</ref> The essence of these anti-Marxist ideas have endured into the latest version of the program.

Fundamentally, the program sets out a strategy to win socialism in three stages.

In the first stage, the CPB seeks to unite workers in a "popular democratic anti-monopoly alliance" built upon the labor movement. This would lead to the election of a "left government ... based on parliamentary majorities of [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]], socialist, communist and progressive representatives, and strengthened by the election of left majorities in Scotland and Wales." From here, the party envisages a left government which "will need to work closely with – and be held to account by – the labour movement and the ... popular democratic anti-monopoly alliance."<ref name=":2">{{Citation|author=CPB Executive Committee|year=2020|title=Britain’s road to socialism|title-url=https://yclbritain.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/britains_road_to_socialism.pdf|pdf=https://yclbritain.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/britains_road_to_socialism.pdf|publisher=Manifesto Press Cooperative|isbn=978-1-907464-43-0}}</ref>

In the second stage, once a left government has been elected, the CPB sets forth that the state apparatus will try to continue operating in the "interests of the system for which they were designed". To overcome this, the government would have to introduce "extensive changes in recruitment, staffing and management policies within the civil and diplomatic services, the judiciary, the [[police]], the secret services and armed forces". This will be achieved by "parliamentary means" supported by regular "democratic endorsement by the people in elections and referendums."

This is in absolute contradiction with [[Karl Marx|Marx's]] teaching on the state,<ref name=":1">{{Citation|author=[[Ranjeet Brar]]|year=2022|title=Britain’s Road to Socialism?|title-url=https://thecommunists.org/2022/09/27/news/theory/book-britains-road-to-socialism/|chapter=Marx’s teaching on the state|page=17|pdf=https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3.cpgb-ml.org/BritainsRoadtoSocialism_read.pdf|publisher=[[CPGB-ML]]|isbn=978-1-913286-07-1|quote=The ideas of the 1951 BRS stand in glaring opposition to Marx’s most fundamental teaching on the state, deduced from the living experience of the Paris Commune of 1871, and summed up in his work The Civil War in France, which reached the conclusion that the proletariat could not simply lay hold of the ready made apparatus of the bourgeois state and wield it for its own purposes.}}</ref> as outlined in [[Library:The civil war in France|The civil war in France]]. Changes in "recruitment, staffing and management policies" show a failure to assimilate one of the main teachings of the [[Paris Commune]], ie that:<blockquote>[T]he working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery, and wield it for its own purposes.<ref>{{Citation|author=Karl Marx|year=1871|title=The civil war in France|title-url=https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Library:The_civil_war_in_France|chapter=The Paris Commune|quote=the working class cannot simply lay hold of the ready-made state machinery, and wield it for its own purposes.}}</ref></blockquote>The third stage proceeds to explain that the party's Left-Wing Programme (LWP) of policies would "make inroads into the wealth and power of the [[Imperialism|monopoly capitalists]]," and describes methods by which opposition to the program could be overcome.

Based on this program, in 2017 the CPB threw its weight behind Jeremy Corbyn's [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]], abnormally choosing to not fields candidates for the general election.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Robert Griffiths|newspaper=Young Communist League|title=Communists say: Vote Labour Everywhere for a Left-Led Government|date=2017-04-17|url=https://ycl.org.uk/2017/04/24/communists-say-vote-labour-everywhere-for-a-left-led-government/}}</ref> This is based on the BRS's call for the formation of a "left-led government"; [[Jeremy Corbyn]] was seen as a "[[Left-Right Political Spectrum|left]]-wing" leader able to bring this about. This is in spite of the fact that Jeremy Corbyn is a [[Social democracy|social democrat]].<ref>{{Citation|year=2020|title=The Rise and Fall of Project Corbyn|title-url=https://thecommunists.org/2020/08/15/news/book-rise-and-fall-of-project-corbyn/|page=20-22|quote=There is nothing in Corbyn’s political and economic propositions, nothing in his foreign and internal policy stance, that could be described as truly socialistic, in the Marxist understanding of that term. Corbyn is not a Marxist.|pdf=https://s3.eu-west-2.amazonaws.com/s3.cpgb-ml.org/ProjectCorbyn.pdf|publisher=[[CPGB-ML]]|isbn=978-1-913286-01-9}}</ref>

The program, from its first edition by the CPGB up to the latest edition by the CPB, have been extensively criticised by the [[Communist Party of Great Britain (Marxist–Leninist)]]<ref name=":1" /> and the [[Communist Party of Great Britain (Provisional Central Committee)]],<ref>{{Citation|author=[[Jack Conrad]]|year=1991|title=Which Road?|title-url=https://archive.cpgb.org.uk/assets/files/resources/Which%20Road.pdf|pdf=https://archive.cpgb.org.uk/assets/files/resources/Which%20Road.pdf|publisher=November Publications|isbn=1 874123 00 4}}</ref><ref>{{Web citation|author=[[Jack Conrad]]|newspaper=[[Weekly Worker]]|title=Our own programme|date=2022-06-16|url=https://www.weeklyworker.co.uk/worker/1399/our-own-programme/}}</ref> each accusing it of [[revisionism]] – each from different perspectives.

==Electoral program==

===Councils===
The CPB recommends creating councils that own public housing and run leisure, sporting, and culture clubs and public transportation.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|author=Communist Party of Britain|year=2022|title=The Communists' Manifesto|pdf=https://www.communistparty.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/FOR-WEB-CPB-22-MANIFESTO.pdf|publisher=Ruskin House}}</ref>

===Education===
The CPB supports investing in community-run libraries. It advocates for schools to be secular and under control of elected local authorities.<ref name=":0" />

===Scotland and Wales===
The CPB wants [[Scotland]] and [[Wales]] to have their own parliaments instead of being controlled from [[London]].<ref name=":0" />

== Transphobic Statements ==
On March 29th, 2023, the Communist Party of Britain released a statement which includes the many [[Transphobia|transphobic]] remarks. It claimed that the [[Gender Recognition Bill]] is a failure, and CPB does not support it in any way, essentially siding with England because of their antagonism. It also claimed that the bill will only bring confusion and legal chaos, because Scotland doesn’t align with the UK. The next claim from CPB was that you need gender dysphoria to be trans, essentially falling into the transmedicalist ideology. In this statement, the CPB opposed both Scotland and Wales decision to allow people to change their gender regardless of gender dysphoria, utilizing a [[TERF]] argument of “men” being predators in women-only and children spaces. Another thing made clear in this statement was that the CPB believes in gender ideology, and claims that “gender ideology” suits the [[capitalist class]] despite transphobic media being rampant especially in the UK.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Communist Party executive committee|newspaper=Communist Party of Britain|title=The Gender Recognition Bill and Equality Law|date=2023-03-29|url=https://www.communistparty.org.uk/the-gender-recognition-bill-and-equality-law/}}</ref> Shortly after this statement, a post was made on [[Twitter]] by the CPB saying "CP WON’T BE SILENCED" and doubling down on the statement previously made.<ref>{{Web citation|author=CPBritain|newspaper=Twitter|title=CP WON’T BE SILENCED|date=2023-03-30|url=https://twitter.com/CPBritain/status/1641416916475445251|archive-date=2023-03-30|retrieved=2023-03-30}}</ref>

==References==
[[Category:Communist parties]]
<references />
[[Category:British communist parties]]

LGBT rights and issues in AES countries

2025-09-06T00:10:13Z

185.187.243.143:

<blockquote>'''''Note:''' This article is about [[LGBT+|lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender]] rights in [[Actually Existing Socialism|current socialist]] countries. Due to the widespread use of the term LGBT in the Anglosphere, this article has primarily been written using this term and its variants. However, the U.S.-originated term LGBT in this article should be regarded as provisional, as the countries discussed in the article do not themselves originate in U.S. culture and their own local conceptions and histories of gender and sexuality must be considered.''</blockquote>[[File:LGBT rights demonstrators in Vietnam thank the National Assembly.png|thumb|LGBT rights demonstrators in [[Socialist Republic of Vietnam|Vietnam]] thank the National Assembly following the approval of a bill for legal gender change in 2015.<ref>[https://kenh14.vn/xa-hoi/ngay-hop-phap-hoa-chuyen-gioi-ban-tre-ra-duong-voi-bang-chu-cam-on-quoc-hoi-20151124112259576.chn "Ngày hợp pháp hóa chuyển giới: Bạn trẻ ra đường với bảng chữ "Cảm ơn Quốc hội""] (Transgender legalization day: Young people take to the streets with the sign "Thank you to the National Assembly") 25-11-2015. Kenh 14 VN.</ref>|362x362px]]
The nature and status of [[LGBT+]] rights in current and former [[Actually Existing Socialism|actually existing socialist]] (AES) countries is a common subject of inquiry and debate throughout the political sphere, chiefly among LGBT [[Communism|communists]] looking for truth and answers regarding the actual rights enjoyed and issues faced by LGBT people under AES, among reactionary and anti-communist individuals and organizations seeking to utilize or misconstrue LGBT rights violations and policy failures under AES as a way to discredit and undermine AES countries, and by communists with anti-LGBT lines seeking precedent to uphold their anti-LGBT stances. Given these intersecting desires and aims, and in some cases, concerted [[reactionary]] and/or [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] propaganda campaigns, as well as the co-optation and weaponization of LGBT struggle by [[Liberalism|liberal]], [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]], and [[Imperialism|imperialist]] organizations for destabilization of AES countries through [[color revolution]], the subject of LGBT rights in AES countries is often surrounded with difficulty and controversy.

Distinguishing between real problems faced by LGBT communities under AES, vs. anti-communist propaganda that seeks to use LGBT rights as a cover or vehicle for spreading misinformation and [[atrocity propaganda]] about AES countries, is a persistent issue in the discourse around this subject.

It should be noted that many issues faced by LGBT communities in AES countries are not issues found uniquely under socialism, but may be faced by LGBT individuals and communities under various modes of production, including in capitalist societies, and a dialectical materialist analysis must be maintained to understand the development of LGBT rights worldwide. Always keep in mind the [[Historical materialism|historical materialist]] attitude: collective discrimination of the LGBT community existed before [[Capitalism|capitalist society]] and will persist in a different form after those societies have been replaced by [[Socialism|socialist societies]]. Due to capitalist society's incessant need to [[Commodification|commodify]] and thereby further [[Exploitation|exploit]] working people, LGBT communities are commonly used as a source of new commodities to counter the [[tendency of the rate of profit to fall]] as well to confuse the working class via the [[divide and conquer]] strategies of the bourgeoise in modern [[class struggle]].

== Background information, context, and terminology ==

=== Use and meaning of LGBT terminology ===
<blockquote>''See also: [[LGBT+]]''</blockquote>LGBT is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s and originating in the United States, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity and has since come into international and cross-linguistic usage.

Despite the fact that the four-letter LGBT initialism does not explicitly encompass all individuals in smaller communities, the term is generally accepted to implicitly include those not specifically identified in the four-letter initialism.

Sukrita Lahiri, writing on the issue of terminology in international politics, says of the term "LGBT":<blockquote>LGBT remains the most commonly used umbrella term in the global framework of gender and sexuality, even though it has its reductionist problems as it leaves out a host of identities like intersex, queer, and questioning.<ref name=":11">{{Citation|author=Sukrita Lahiri|year=2020|title=Anti-Pinkwashing as Emerging Hope: Queering the Palestinian Liberation Movement in the Context of Institutionalised Neoliberalism|title-url=https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.13169/intecritdivestud.3.2.0053|publisher=International Journal of Critical Diversity Studies, Pluto Journals.}}</ref></blockquote>

===== Other terminology for gender and sexual minorities =====
Another commonly used term is gender and sexual minorities, under the initials GSM. Finally, another common term is the word queer, which is often used as another umbrella term for LGBT people, or gender and sexual minorities. Many people self-identify with this term, but others regard this term to be offensive and prefer not to use it. Sukrita Lahiri says of the term "queer" that it "opens up innumerable possibilities" due to the term being "intrinsically one that challenges any form of determinism" however, it "only exists in the English language and therefore it is important to be critical of the use."<ref name=":11" /> However, the term "queer" has been at least partially borrowed into some other languages.

These various terms are not universally agreed to or used by everyone that they attempt to encompass, and differences in usage may be found throughout various times in history, various communities, or in various contexts. In addition, local terminology in various countries and languages describing their own local sociocultural conceptions of gender and sexual minorities may be more commonly or more suitably used in a given location or context.

On the issue of translating topics regarding sexuality, Sukrita Lahiri writes:<blockquote>The politics of sexuality is thoroughly altered in the process of translation [...] translating sexualities in international politics pushes one to confront notions of emancipation–colonisation, sovereignty–interference, among which global narratives are locally welcomed or repelled.<ref name=":11" /></blockquote>

=== Real problems faced by LGBT communities under AES vs. anti-communist misinformation ===
Real problems facing the LGBT communities of AES countries coexist alongside anti-communist propaganda designed to malign these countries or incite color revolution in them, making the topic difficult to analyze, as reliable sources may be hard to come by, not only due to LGBT rights being a minority issue that often receives limited coverage, but also to the rampant intentional spread of misinformation on the subject.

In attempting to navigate through ever-present misinformation regarding AES countries, the actual problems faced by LGBT communities in AES countries, currently or historically, may at times be hard to accurately assess. Additionally, many problems faced by LGBT communities in AES countries are not problems found uniquely under socialism, but may be faced by LGBT individuals and communities under various modes of production, including in capitalist societies.

=== Rainbow capitalism, rainbow imperialism, and pinkwashing ===
[[Rainbow capitalism]] (sometimes called pink capitalism) refers to the involvement of capitalism and consumerism in the LGBT movement and the co-optation and weaponization of the LGBT movement by capitalist interests. Rainbow imperialism (or pink imperialism) refers to the whitewashing (also called ''pinkwashing'', see below) of imperialism through the promotion of so-called "LGBT-friendly" imperialist interests and organizations, such as promotion of LGBT inclusivity into the [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]].<ref>{{Web citation|author=Thom Waite|newspaper=Dazed|title=The CIA’s latest ‘woke washing’ recruitment ad stars a gay agency librarian|date=2021-05-12|url=https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/52759/1/the-cia-latest-woke-washing-recruitment-ad-stars-a-gay-agency-librarian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229162030/https://www.dazeddigital.com/life-culture/article/52759/1/the-cia-latest-woke-washing-recruitment-ad-stars-a-gay-agency-librarian|archive-date=2022-12-29|retrieved=2025-05-16}}</ref>

Another related term is "pinkwashing" (similar to terms like whitewashing and [[greenwashing]]). Pinkwashing is the strategy of promoting LGBT rights protections as evidence of liberalism and democracy, especially to distract from or legitimize violence against other countries or communities. Pinkwashing is a continuation of the political rationale used to justify [[colonialism]] on the basis of LGBT rights.

In 2011, Sarah Schulman used the term ''pinkwashing'' in a widely read editorial in [[The New York Times|''The New York Times'']] citing [[State of Israel|Israel]] as an example of the use of the tactic of pinkwashing in public relations. Schulman states that after "generations of sacrifice and organization, gay people in parts of the world have won protection from discrimination and relationship recognition. But these changes have given rise to a nefarious phenomenon: the co-opting of white gay people by anti-immigrant and anti-[[Islam|Muslim]] political forces in Western Europe and Israel." Schulman says that an opportunistically selective depiction of usually Arab, South Asian, Turkish or African Muslim immigrants as "homophobic fanatics" is strategically contrasted against the "relevant and modern" marketing image of Israel, harnessing the gay community to reposition Israel's global image, summarizing the situation by saying that the "growing global gay movement against the Israeli occupation has named these tactics 'pinkwashing': a deliberate strategy to conceal the continuing violations of [[State of Palestine|Palestinians]]' human rights behind an image of modernity signified by Israeli gay life."<ref>{{News citation|author=By Sarah Schulman|newspaper=The New York Times|title=Israel and ‘Pinkwashing’|date=Nov. 22, 2011|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/23/opinion/pinkwashing-and-israels-use-of-gays-as-a-messaging-tool.html|quote=After generations of sacrifice and organization, gay people in parts of the world have won protection from discrimination and relationship recognition. But these changes have given rise to a nefarious phenomenon: the co-opting of white gay people by anti-immigrant and anti-Muslim political forces in Western Europe and Israel.}}</ref>

In ''Anti-Pinkwashing as Emerging Hope,'' Sukrita Lahiri writes of the relationship between pinkwashing and imperial violence:<blockquote>Historically speaking, [[settler colonialism]] has a long history of articulating its violence through the protection of certain figures such as women and children (Moghadam, 1994), and now homosexuals. Pinkwashing is just one more justification for imperial violence within this long tradition which works in part by tapping into the discursive and structural circuits produced by the West against the danger of “Islamic extremism.” In persistence of this imperial tradition, Gayatri Spivak’s (2010) well-known precept “white men saving brown women from brown men” (p. 57) gets modified with the trope of white homosexuals saving brown homosexuals from brown heterosexuals (Morris, 2010). Further, the neoliberal economic structure comfortably stretches itself to induce a compartmentalised sort of marketing of various ethnic and minoritised groups (Fraser, 2013). Thus it normalises the production of, for example, a gay and lesbian tourism industry built on the distinction between “gay-friendly” and homophobic destinations. The human rights groups voicing homosexual concerns continue to proliferate Western constructs of identity that privilege identity politics, “coming out”, increased visibility, and legislative measures as the dominant scales of social inclusion and progress.<ref name=":11" /></blockquote>

=== Destabilization of AES countries via imperialist-backed NGOs ===
Closely related to the issues of rainbow imperialism and rainbow capitalism is the practice of capitalist and imperialist powers of using a guise of "LGBT rights" to engage in foreign meddling or to manufacture atrocity propaganda to undermine the sovereignty of AES or anti-imperialist countries.

The existence of such developments and co-optations in liberal LGBT movements and capitalist and imperialist societies can lead to or inflame preexisting anti-LGBT sentiment in countries targeted by these tactics, or cause people to see LGBT movements as unwelcome foreign or bourgeois elements. This in turn can lead to persecution or suspicion of the local LGBT community. Local, grassroots, genuine proletarian LGBT movements and communities may exist alongside opportunistic meddling by imperialists and become subject to co-optation, leading to confusion and tensions around the issue.

A group called [[NonLa Collective]], a digital front of Vietnamese communists, spoke on this issue by saying:<blockquote>Ultimately, it’s true that our society has many problems when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues. It’s also true that the Vietnamese revolutionary government can and should do more, and more quickly, to address the needs and concerns of LGBTQ+ citizens. But, speaking as LGBTQ+ Vietnamese ourselves, we do not feel as if we need to be “rescued” by foreign-imperialist organizations like USAID, nor do we see how dismantling our revolutionary government would ''help'' our LGBTQ+ movement in any way. Vietnam has our own vibrant, strong, and growing LGBTQ+ liberation movement. In Ho Chi Minh City alone, in 2019, thousands of people showed up to the most recent pride event before COVID-19 broke out, and activism continues even through the pandemic. The government does not restrict or limit our voices in any way, on the contrary, LGBTQ+ stories are shared positively on state media [...] Again, we ask, how would immediately dismantling our revolutionary government help LGBTQ+ people in any way?<ref name=":27" /></blockquote>

A criticism of such tactics is put forth by Yi Zhi in a Global Times article titled "Politicizing LGBTQI issues in China could backfire on West":<blockquote>The truth is, those [Western] media outlets know very well what the issue is all about. They do not really care about the group, but rather treat it as a tool to infiltrate China, pushing their values like the so-called human rights in China. Some foreign political forces have been playing tricks over issues like feminism, AIDS, animal protection, and so on. LGBTQI has become their latest contrivance.

Controversies over the above-mentioned topics do exist and there is room for improvement in China. But what the foreign forces have been doing is cultivating their own version of the so-called civil society in China.

[...] As long as the foreign forces which support LGBTQI groups in China respect China's sovereignty and the rule of law, China will surely have their back. There will be no problem as long as the foreign forces which support LGBTQI groups in China respect China's sovereignty and the rule of law. Unfortunately, those foreign forces often have ulterior motives. Imagine if the LGBTQI groups in the West are supported by other forces which aim at overthrowing the capitalist system, will the countries turn a blind eye to them? [...] [The West] should be careful not to habitually politicize social issues, cozying up to certain groups too much and intensifying contradictions. Otherwise, they will only cause greater social injustice, triggering fierce counterattacks by right-wing populists.<ref>Yi Zhi. Dec 02, 2021."Politicizing LGBTQI issues in China could backfire on West." Global Times. URL: https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202112/1240533.shtml</ref></blockquote>According to an article entitled "West-backed color revolution a ‘top threat’ to China’s national, political security" appearing in People's Daily, "Experts on international intelligence and security said under the intensifying China-US competition, foreign hostile forces have increased efforts to target the political security of China rather than merely conducting regular espionage activities. [...] Apart from targeting Xinjiang and Hong Kong which are traditional geopolitical hotspots, foreign hostile forces are also keen to use issues like LGBT, feminism and environmentalism which are easy to stir heated discussions on social media via disinformation and rumors to create problems by instigating conflicts between specific groups in China" and continues by saying, "Fortunately, this kind of practice is unable to cause a significant impact or escalate into a massive color revolution, since with the modernization and development of China, the majority of Chinese netizens are able to discuss these issues with a mature and reasonable attitude, and legal civil organizations on LGBT or environment protection will distance themselves from hostile foreign intervention."<ref name=":0">''West-backed color revolution a ‘top threat’ to China’s national, political security - People’s Daily Online''. People’s Daily. April 16, 2021. URL: <nowiki>http://en.people.cn/n3/2021/0416/c90000-9840004.html</nowiki></ref>

In the text ''Understanding Korea No. 9: Human Rights'', a book discussing The [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea|DPRK's]] views on human rights, the following commentary is provided on the U.S. and Western use of "human rights" as a tool for suppression of DPRK and other countries: <blockquote>At present, in many cases the US and the Western countries abuse the international human rights instruments as a means to justify their suppression of the rights of their people, and their invasion, intervention and human rights violations against other countries and nations. [...] The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights had been abused as a tool for imposing political pressure and interfering in the internal affairs of the progressive and developing countries by the US and other Western countries after the Cold War, which attempted to pick a quarrel with the human rights situations in these countries and impose their own “human rights standards” on them.<ref name=":24">{{Citation|author=Kim Ji Ho|year=2017|title=Understanding Korea 9: Human Rights|city=Pyongyang|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House}}</ref></blockquote>The work further clarifies:<blockquote>The US and its followers conduct the anti-DPRK human rights campaign with an intention to mislead the public opinion and raise the non-existent “human rights issue” in the DPRK as an international issue, thus defaming the prestige of the DPRK in the international arena and toppling its socialist system under the veil of “defending human rights.” As it has learned that military threats are helpless in bringing down the socialist system of the DPRK, the US is trying to internationalize the anti-DPRK human rights campaign by instigating its followers. The smear campaign conducted by the US is, in nature, an acme of high-handedness and arbitrariness aimed at ignoring the political mode and social system established in the DPRK and changing them at any cost. It is also a brigandish act of destroying the very foundation of international human rights mechanisms.<ref name=":24" /></blockquote>In the work, the hostile U.S. policy of using human rights as a destabilization tool is described as a major obstacle to human rights in DPRK:<blockquote>The major obstacles to the protection and promotion of human rights in the DPRK are the hostile policy pursued by the United States and other Western countries against the DPRK and their “human rights” racket. In other words, they are their moves to stamp out the country politically, blackmail it militarily and isolate and stifle it economically. [...] Despite the continued moves of the US and its followers to isolate and stifle the DPRK, the government advances policies for the protection and promotion of human rights of the people and is making every effort to bring them into effect. Thanks to the steadfast people-oriented policies advanced by the government and its continued efforts to perfect the human rights instruments, human rights will be guaranteed on a higher plane in the DPRK.<ref name=":24" /></blockquote>Such articles as those cited above illustrate one of the main causes of rejection or suspicion of certain elements of Western-influenced or Western-led LGBT rights movements in AES countries.

=== Anti-LGBT sentiments among communists ===
Along with pro-LGBT positions among communists, anti-LGBT positions among communists and communist organizations are a reality. In past and present AES, both pro- and anti-LGBT positions and policies can be found. Anti-LGBT positions among communists often stem from a perceived association of LGBT movements with "bourgeois decadence" or "degeneracy", or with extreme individualism. Other anti-LGBT positions among communists may be traced to their opposition to the usage of "rainbow imperialism" to undermine and attack AES countries and communist movements, or infiltrate them with liberal-bourgeois LGBT rights organizations.

The 1975 Marxist-Leninist work, "Toward A Scientific Analysis of the Gay Question" composed by the Los Angeles Research Group,<ref name=":1">Los Angeles Research Group. "Toward A Scientific Analysis of the Gay Question." 1975. URL: https://www.marxists.org/history/erol/ncm-8/gay-question/index.htm</ref> a group of gay communist women, seeks to provide dialectical materialist explanations and criticisms of a variety of anti-LGBT positions and lines put forth by U.S. communist organizations of the time. As the term "LGBT" itself originates in the U.S., and U.S. imperialists use of "rainbow capitalism" and "rainbow imperialism" as tools against AES countries are among the main reasons for anti-LGBT sentiments among some communists, an understanding of the contradictions within the U.S. LGBT movement is relevant to understanding international LGBT struggle.

Regarding the origin of bourgeois, [[Opportunism|opportunist]], and [[Reformism|reformist]] currents arising as contradictions in the U.S. LGBT movement, the Los Angeles Research Group writes:<blockquote>The gay movement operated in the same context as [...] other progressive struggles. Chief among the contradictions within the gay movement, as in other groups, was the predominance of petty-bourgeois elements. The communist forces in the gay movement were also small in number and still primitive, and got very little support for their work from other communists. Many gay communists saw anti-war work and the working class movement as more important; gay women communists saw the women’s movement as a higher priority than the gay movement. As a practical result, the gay movement was abandoned by communists to the leadership of the petty-bourgeoisie to where it is now dominated, on the one hand, by a few opportunists and reformists, [...] who are bought off by government and foundation grants. [...] The fact that anti-gay communists take the most conspicuous gay people for the whole points again to their one-sided, superficial and subjective approach.<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>Among the conclusions of the Los Angeles Group is the following assertion: "The contradiction between homosexuals and heterosexuals is non-antagonistic; it can be worked out through principled struggle. Communists, gays and heterosexuals alike, must unite with the progressive aspects raised by the gay movement and struggle against those bourgeois elements which exist." The work continues:<blockquote>Just as men, women, heterosexuals, gays and minorities cross all class lines, any organization of these groups will reflect one or another class line at any given historical period depending on the strength and development of the different class forces. Gays are not inherently revolutionary (as some gay groups would say), nor inherently reactionary (as some “communist” groups would say). The class nature of gay liberation will change only when it is given revolutionary working class leadership. Until then, like all other groups, bourgeois ideology will fill the political vacuum. Even the working class, left to itself, can only develop trade union consciousness, which in the last analysis is bourgeois. To expect the gay movement to be any different when left without proletarian leadership is pure idealism. Gay people, particularly working class gays, are perfectly capable of enthusiastically grasping the science of Marxism Leninism and of being disciplined revolutionary fighters. To make enemies of potential allies is to abandon the working class and its interests.<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>

=== Existence of non-heterosexual and gender-variant identities and practices in societies worldwide ===
It must be remembered that the LGBT movement that arose in the modern West is only one manifestation of a worldwide phenomenon of non-heterosexual and gender-variant identities and practices throughout history. As the majority of current and former AES countries exist outside of the West, or only on its periphery, an understanding of the local histories and conceptions of each country's own gender and sexual minorities must be investigated for a dialectical materialist understanding of their situations to be formed. As all of the AES countries have also existed in a time where the Western LGBT movement was already forming and developing, an understanding of that movement and its contradictions in conjunction with local movements and traditions would be necessary to form a nuanced understanding of the nature of gender and sexual minority cultures, histories, rights, and issues unique to each country.
On the topic of pre-modern transgender identities and spiritual traditions in Asia and the Pacific and their relationship to contemporary LGBT identities, Pauline Park writes:<blockquote>There is a very wide misconception that ‘lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender’ (LGBT) constitutes a purely modern phenomenon created by late nineteenth and early twentieth century sexologists and activists. In fact, every pre-modern Asian and Pacific Islander society had what could be termed ‘proto-transgenderal’ and homoerotic traditions which anticipate these contemporary LGBT identities, even if there are significant differences between the pre-modern and the contemporary identity formations. [...] In examining the entire history of homoerotic and proto-transgenderal traditions in pre-modern Asian and Pacific Islander societies, we must not make the mistake of romanticizing such traditions or failing to recognize the significant differences between ‘them’ and ‘us’ — meaning contemporary queer LGBT/queer APIs [Asian and Pacific Islanders], especially those of us in the diaspora. Those ancient traditions are embedded in societies which were not characterized by equality of age, gender or class relations, and many of the forms that homoeroticism and transgenderal identity took would offend our egalitarian sensibilities.<ref name=":10">{{News citation|author=Pauline Park|title=Transgender Identities & Spiritual Traditions in Asia & the Pacific: Lessons for LGBT/Queer APIs (Pacific School of Religion, 4.2.13)|date=03-31-2013|url=https://paulinepark.com/2013/03/31/transgender-identities-spiritual-traditions-in-asia-the-pacific-lessons-for-lgbtqueer-apis-pacific-school-of-religion-4-2-13/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220801085500/https://paulinepark.com/2013/03/31/transgender-identities-spiritual-traditions-in-asia-the-pacific-lessons-for-lgbtqueer-apis-pacific-school-of-religion-4-2-13/}}</ref></blockquote>Park continues by saying that the examination of such pre-modern "proto-transgenderal" and homoerotic figures and images can have implications for political action "by challenging and disarming the false discourse of reactionary elements in the Asia/Pacific region today and in API immigrant communities that attempt to label LGBT identities as false and foreign, the fabrication of white, Western and even specifically American influence."<ref name=":10" />[[File:Colonial and imperial spheres of influence in Asia.jpg|thumb|A map depicting colonial and imperial spheres of influence in Asia from 1850-1914.<ref>{{News citation|newspaper=Facing History|title=Western Imperialism in East Asia|url=https://www.facinghistory.org/resource-library/teaching-nanjing-atrocities/western-imperialism-east-asia}}</ref>]]

=== Influence of colonialism, religion, and local tradition in views and practices of gender and sexuality ===
In addition to local and indigenous views and practices that may be found in various societies in the world, [[colonialism]] also has left a cultural impact on many societies in regard to their views on gender and sexuality. For example, in some regions, concepts of gender or sexuality may have been more or less broad, fluid, or permissive than what was introduced or imposed on those societies through colonialism. Colonialism may also impose new religious doctrines on populations, or introduce concepts that become blended with traditional, local concepts.

==== Western colonialism ====
In particular, the current AES countries have been impacted in varying ways by Western colonialism, which typically brought [[Christianity|Christian]] religious values and imposed European laws, social norms, and standards onto the issues of gender and sexuality in the countries they colonized. Depending on a variety of factors, such as the pre-existing local attitudes about gender and sexuality in a given location, the particular Western power(s) that held the most colonial influence in a region, the time period of the colonization, etc., the resulting effect on the social fabric of each society will have its own characteristics that must be uniquely considered for a proper dialectical materialist analysis.

In the AES [[Republic of Cuba]], there is a majority Christian population, primarily [[Catholicism|Catholic]]. Cuba also has a significant population practicing [[Santería]], an African diasporic religion that arose through a process of syncretism between the traditional Yoruba religion of West Africa, the Roman Catholic form of Christianity, and Spiritism. The religious situation of Cuba is illustrative of the complex overlapping cultural currents that exist in colonized nations, such as the displacement, destruction, or transformation of indigenous culture, the imposition of the colonizer's culture, and the effects of the [[Slavery|slave trade]]. The complexity of this historical and cultural situation must be considered when analyzing the history and modern status of LGBT population in Cuba.

==== East Asian cultural sphere ====
The East Asian cultural sphere, also known as the Sinosphere, encompasses multiple countries in East and Southeast Asia that were historically influenced by Chinese culture. The current AES countries who have historically been part of this cultural sphere of influence are the [[People's Republic of China]], [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]], and the [[Socialist Republic of Vietnam]]. Imperial China was a regional power and exerted influence on tributary states and neighboring states, among which were Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. These interactions brought ideological and cultural influences rooted in [[Confucianism]], [[Buddhism]], and [[Taoism]]. In the 21st century, ideological and cultural influences of Confucianism and Buddhism remain in various forms in these countries.

An ILGA Asia report from 2021 states that Confucian culture "strongly supports heterosexual and traditional family models of straight men and women."<ref name=":14">N.A. [https://static1.squarespace.com/static/526c21b5e4b0d43e45f6c4c2/t/60cc1b25ff2943704dad091e/1623989084760/Country%2BReport_Vietnam%2B%281%29-compressed.pdf Dare to Dream: The Ongoing Voyage from Invisibility to Community Empowerment, and Foray into the Region for LGBTIQ in Vietnam]. ILGA Asia, 2021.</ref> According to a study on the influence of Confucianism on modern (hetero-)sexual relationships among youths in China and Vietnam, "Traditional Confucian culture, the common base of social culture in the mainland of China, Taiwan and Vietnam, is a complex system of moral, social, political, and religious thought with regard to individual’s relationships with others and appropriate conduct." The study found that "different aspects of Confucian culture eroded unevenly and might have different association with adolescent and youth's sexual behaviors in Hanoi, Shanghai, and Taipei undergoing rapid socio-economic change."<ref>Gao E, Zuo X, Wang L, Lou C, Cheng Y, Zabin LS. [https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4235616/ How does traditional Confucian culture influence adolescents' sexual behavior in three Asian cities?] J Adolesc Health. 2012 Mar;50(3 Suppl):S12-7. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.12.002. PMID: 22340851; PMCID: PMC4235616.</ref>

According to City Pass Guide, sexual orientation and gender identity throughout Asia "is a complex terrain from which cultural values, family intradependence, religion, and the tumultuous legacy of colonialism grow and intertwine. As a result, LGBTQ rights vary widely in this part of the world."<ref name=":9">{{News citation|author=John Mark Harrell|newspaper=City Pass Guide|title=PRIDE AND PROMISE FOR VIETNAM’S LGBTQI+ COMMUNITY|url=https://www.citypassguide.com/blog/pride-and-promise-for-vietnams-lgbtqi-community}}</ref>

== LGBT rights in current AES countries ==
The five current AES states are China, Cuba, DPRK, Laos, and Vietnam. As is clarified in the previous sections of this article, each of these countries comes with their own unique histories, experiences with colonization, and their own traditional and modern cultures which all affect their outlook and present status in regard to LGBT rights. Same-sex relations are not illegal in any AES state, nor do any of them criminalize forms of gender expression such as "imitating the opposite sex" in their constitutions.<ref>[https://internap.hrw.org/features/features/lgbt_laws/ “#OUTLAWED: ‘the Love That Dare Not Speak Its Name.’”] [[Human Rights Watch]]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220922151200/http://internap.hrw.org/features/features/lgbt_laws/ Archived] 2022-09-30. Accessed 2022-09-30.</ref>

In China, Cuba, Laos, and Vietnam, there are LGBT advocacy organizations that are working within their countries' legal systems to expand protections of LGBT individuals, increase the quality of healthcare for the LGBT community, and spread increased awareness in society, in a similar fashion to LGBT advocacy groups anywhere else in the world. Individuals from DPRK and individuals who have visited there have stated that LGBT issues are not highly well-known in DPRK, but that LGBT people are not legally persecuted.<ref name=":19" /><ref name=":25" /><ref name=":17" /><ref name=":32" /> In a 2017 work regarding human rights in general in DPRK, Kim Ji Ho writes that "Despite the continued moves of the US and its followers to isolate and stifle the DPRK, the government advances policies for the protection and promotion of human rights of the people and is making every effort to bring them into effect" and explains that DPRK focuses on economic development in order to improve and secure human rights.<ref name=":242">{{Citation|author=Kim Ji Ho|year=2017|title=Understanding Korea 9: Human Rights|city=Pyongyang|publisher=Foreign Languages Publishing House}}</ref>

A 2020 report from China observed that tolerance towards the LGBT community was positively associated with economic growth, and that "a higher level of economic development in provinces was associated with a decrease in discrimination" against LGBT individuals, stating that "every 100 thousand RMB increase in per capita GDP lead to a 6.4% decrease in discriminatory events perpetrated by heterosexuals." The authors observed that reductions in LGBT discrimination and development of the economy are "closely linked" and can be regarded as "harmonious processes."<ref name=":21" />

Currently, Cuba offers the most expansive and explicit legal protections for LGBT rights among the AES countries. Cuba's 2022 amendments to the [[Family Code]] of its constitution offers a high degree of explicit legal protections for LGBT persons and non-traditional family structures. The code guarantees the right of all people to form a family without discrimination, legalizing same sex marriage and allowing same sex couples to adopt children.<ref>[https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/09/26/cubans-just-ratified-the-worlds-most-progressive-family-code/ “Cubans Just Ratified the World’s Most Progressive Family Code”] Peoples Dispatch. September 26, 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220930032053/https://peoplesdispatch.org/2022/09/26/cubans-just-ratified-the-worlds-most-progressive-family-code/ Archived] 2022-09-30.</ref> Additionally, since 2008, gender reassignment surgery and hormone replacement therapy have been available free of charge under Cuba’s national healthcare system.<ref name=":31">''The Independent''. 2018. “Inside Cuba’s LGBT Revolution: How the Island’s Attitudes to Sexuality and Gender Were Transformed,” January 4, 2018. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cuba-lgbt-revolution-gay-lesbian-transgender-rights-havana-raul-castro-a8122591.html</ref>

In general, a trend of increased awareness of LGBT issues in society is progressing in the AES countries, along with an increase in explicit legal protections and improved access to quality healthcare for the LGBT community. In general, many of the social issues faced by the LGBT communities of the AES countries are similar to issues faced by the LGBT communities in other countries in their respective regions. Cuba serves as an example of highly progressive protections for LGBT individuals. In China, Laos, and Vietnam, LGBT advocates are organized and freely seeking expansions of their rights and increased awareness in society, and the expansion of protections in the workplace and improvements in healthcare are increasing. This can be seen in China with the opening of various trans healthcare clinics and with trans people successfully winning lawsuits to prevent workplace discrimination,<ref name=":33" /> in Vietnam with the discussion of Article 37 of the Civil Code and improvements in trans healthcare, and in Laos with the presence elected transgender, lesbian and gay public officials,<ref name=":30" /> the Lao Youth and Adolescent Development Strategy and the government's willingness to work with LGBT rights organizations such as Proud to Be Us Laos and LGBT advocates within the Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union. In DPRK, the human rights focus remains primarily on economic improvements meant to increase the quality of life of all citizens.

=== People's Republic of China ===
Xin Ying, executive director of the Beijing LGBTQ Centre, characterizes the status of LGBT rights in [[People's Republic of China|China]] is quoted in a 2021 article as saying that "China’s situation isn’t the worst in Asia, but it still has room for improvement."<ref name=":2">{{News citation|author=Phoebe Zhang|newspaper=South China Morning Post|title=For LGBTQ people in China the picture is mixed, global report finds, with some legal protections but barriers to freedom of expression|date=2021-12-21|url=https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/family-relationships/article/3114633/lgbtq-people-china-picture-mixed-global-report-finds}}</ref>

According to a 2018 CGTN article,<ref name=":16">{{Web citation|newspaper=CGTN|title=LGBT in China: Changes and Challenges|date=22-Jan-2018|url=https://news.cgtn.com/news/3163444d7a677a6333566d54/index.html}}</ref> "Homosexuality in China has a complex history. Unlike homosexuality in the West where religious attitudes prevailed, homosexuality has long existed in Chinese history and culture and there have been art and literary works about it. Nonetheless, disdain and discrimination have often been the rule, understanding and compassion the exception."

The article quotes Professor Li Yinhe of the Institute of Sociology under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences as saying:<blockquote>I think the biggest challenge for homosexuals is not about the ban of their activities. Governments don’t do such things any more. Their biggest problem is the deep-rooted culture of oppression in China that over-emphasizes so-called 'family values.' We refer to the phenomena as being family-oriented whereas western countries are more individual-oriented. This means in China, you should always prioritize your family value in life. When there are conflicts between family values and personal joy, personal joy should also give way.<ref name=":16" /></blockquote>
==== Role of NGOs in destabilization efforts in China ====
According to an article entitled "West-backed color revolution a ‘top threat’ to China’s national, political security" appearing in People's Daily, "Experts on international intelligence and security said under the intensifying China-US competition, foreign hostile forces have increased efforts to target the political security of China rather than merely conducting regular espionage activities. [...] Apart from targeting Xinjiang and Hong Kong which are traditional geopolitical hotspots, foreign hostile forces are also keen to use issues like LGBT, feminism and environmentalism which are easy to stir heated discussions on social media via disinformation and rumors to create problems by instigating conflicts between specific groups in China" and continues by saying, "Fortunately, this kind of practice is unable to cause a significant impact or escalate into a massive color revolution, since with the modernization and development of China, the majority of Chinese netizens are able to discuss these issues with a mature and reasonable attitude, and legal civil organizations on LGBT or environment protection will distance themselves from hostile foreign intervention."<ref name=":0" />
==== Legal status of LGBT issues ====
China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997 and officially removed it from the white book of mental disorders, the Chinese Mental Disorder Classification and Diagnosis Standard (CCMD-3) published by China’s Ministry of Health in 2001.<ref>The Diplomat. (2018, June 5). ''China’s Complicated LGBT Movement''. <nowiki>https://thediplomat.com/2018/06/chinas-complicated-lgbt-movement/</nowiki></ref>

Same-sex relationships are legal in China, although same-sex marriage and adoption are not currently legal. Although same-sex marriage is not legal, Chinese LGBT couples have found other ways to gain some legal protection. For example, same-sex couple married overseas can be named as each other’s “legal guardians”, a status considered fairly similar to a civil union.<ref name=":2" />

Transgender individuals are legally allowed to receive healthcare and may legally change their gender marker after receiving sexual reassignment surgery. In recent years, transgender treatment facilities have become more available in China, including the opening of a clinic for the treatment of transgender minors in 2021, where both psychological help and hormone treatment will be available.<ref name=":3">Zhang Wanqing and Li Jiaru. (2021-11-08) "China’s First Clinic for Trans Youth a ‘Good Step,’ Advocates Say." Sixth Tone. URL: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1008904/chinas-first-clinic-for-trans-youth-a-good-step%2C-advocates-say-</ref>
==== Attitudes toward LGBT community ====
[[File:National Survey Results about LGBT descrimination in China, BMC Public Health 2020.png|thumb|Findings of a BMC Public Health survey about public attitudes toward LGBT people in China, conducted in 2015.<ref name=":21">Wang, Yuanyuan, Zhishan Hu, Ke Peng, Joanne Rechdan, Yuan Yang, Lijuan Wu, Ying Xin, et al. [https://d-nb.info/1214031323/34 “Mapping out a Spectrum of the Chinese Public’s Discrimination toward the LGBT Community: Results from a National Survey.”] ''BMC Public Health'' 20, no. 1 (May 12, 2020). <nowiki>https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-020-08834-y</nowiki>.</ref>]]According to a 2020 report published in BMC Public Health, "Chinese people’s view of the LGBT community is strongly impacted by the distinctive Chinese cultural context. It is likely that LGBT individuals’ experiences pronounced negative feelings, psychological distress and perceive severe discrimination within the traditional Chinese cultural context" and "Although there have been many public policies developed for improving the rights of stigmatized and marginalized LGBT individuals, they still face a great deal of discrimination in various contexts."<ref name=":21" />

From the report's data, collected in 2015, the authors conclude that "a higher level of economic development in provinces was associated with a decrease in discrimination, and we identified that every 100 thousand RMB increase in per capita GDP lead to a 6.4% decrease in discriminatory events perpetrated by heterosexuals." Additionally, "Chinese LGBT groups consistently experience discrimination in various aspects of their daily lives. The prevalence of this discrimination is associated with the economic development of the province in which it occurs."<ref name=":21" />

According to the BMC report:<blockquote>We mapped perceived discrimination against LGBT persons separately for each of the seven environments. As shown in Fig. 1c, of the seven settings, the highest level of self-perceived discrimination was reported for social services (Mean = 57.1, SD = 5.7), and discrimination was higher in the north of China. LGBT participants also reported relatively higher levels of self-perceived discrimination in religious settings, with a mean score of 53.5, with a noticeably high incidence among lesbians living in Hainan (Mean = 70.6) and Xinjiang (Mean = 69.2), and transgender persons living in Gansu (Mean = 68.1). Self-perceived discrimination was generally lower in medical service settings (mean = 36.7, SD =3.8), with the exception of transgender participants, who reported an elevated rate (mean = 39.6, SD = 2.7). In school settings, LGBT participants reported a moderate to high level of discriminatory behaviors by peers or teachers (mean = 52.9, SD =3.9), with a relatively lower level of discrimination found among the lesbian group (mean = 48.9, SD =3.1). LGBT participants reported less attention and biased reporting on their community by Chinese media (mean = 56.3, SD =2.7). In family (mean = 47.5, SD =2.3) and workplace settings (mean = 48.4, SD =3.1), a moderate rate of perceived discrimination was reported by LGBT participants.<ref name=":21" /></blockquote>The report also states that "In terms of heterosexuals’ acceptance towards the LGBT community, heterosexual participants reported a high level of acceptance of social relationships with LGBT individuals, such as having LGBT friends or colleagues. However, heterosexual participants reported that it was hard to accept their own children identifying as LGBT. [...] For member of the Chinese LGBT community, the greatest source of pressure to conform to societal norms of sexuality and identity comes from family members—particularly parents."<ref name=":21" />
==== Status of transgender social issues ====
[[File:Findings of 2017 Survey Report on the Survival of the Transgender Community in China, published by the Beijing LGBT Center and the Department of Sociology at Peking University.png|thumb|Some of the findings of the 2017 Survey Report on the Survival of the Transgender Community in China, published by the Beijing LGBT Center and the Department of Sociology at Peking University, regarding perceived levels of "friendliness" towards trans individuals in different work environments.<ref name=":4">Xin Ying, Qi Ji, Wu Lĳuan, et. al. "2017 Chinese Transgender Population General Survey Report." November 2017. Beijing LGBT Center. URL: https://chinadevelopmentbrief.org/publications/2017-chinese-transgender-population-general-survey-report/ PDF: https://chinadevelopmentbrief.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/2017-Chinese-Transgender-Population-General-Survey-Report.pdf</ref>]]According to the 2017 Survey Report on the Survival of the Transgender Community in China, published by the Beijing LGBT Center and the Department of Sociology at Peking University,<ref name=":4" /> China's policy and attitude towards transgender people is "improving", citing regulation about transgender SRS in China becoming more friendly in 2017. Among the report's recommendations were to eliminate SRS as a prerequisite for change of gender markers and names on identity documents, a recommendation to add a “third gender” category on official identity documents, to strengthen provisions in existing legislation to prohibit discrimination against transgender people, and to better respect and protect the gender identity and expression of transgender people, de-pathologize transgender people in the mental health system, to advocate for the bodily autonomy of transgender people within the medical system, and include transgender-specific topics in mandatory sex education curricula.

However, although transgender issues in China can be said to be improving, the report also found there are current significant challenges faced by the community, such as unreliable access to healthcare, widespread depression, rejection from family, and disadvantages in employment, issues which are presented in further detail in the report. For example, the report found that most responds thought that the requirements for SRS candidates in various regulations were "unreasonable." Additionally, transgender women reported the highest levels of discomfort in public spaces, with public restrooms causing the highest anxiety among respondents.

Social rejection was included in the study:<blockquote>Nearly 90% of natal families cannot fully accept their transgender children. Of the 835 respondents that reported that they had disclosed their gender identity to their parents or guardians, four times as many respondents said that they had been totally rejected by their parents or guardians (38.9%) than those who said they had been totally accepted (10.9%). Of these, those most likely to experience rejection were transgender women. Nearly half (48.5%)of who totally being rejected by their parents or guardians were transgender women.<ref name=":4" /></blockquote>

==== Status of transgender healthcare ====
According to Dr. Pan Bolin of the Department of Transformative Surgery at Peking University Third Hospital, close to 80% of the transgender community require hormone treatment.<ref name=":5">Tong Xiaoyu. Oct 05, 2021. "At This Niche Clinic, No Stares, Smirks, or Stigma." Sixth Tone. URL: https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1008624/at-this-niche-clinic%2C-no-stares%2C-smirks%2C-or-stigma [[https://archive.is/20220115190841/https://www.sixthtone.com/news/1008904/chinas-first-clinic-for-trans-youth-a-good-step,-advocates-say- Archive]]</ref>

According to the 2017 Survey Report on the Survival of the Transgender Community in China, published by the Beijing LGBT Center and the Department of Sociology at Peking University, although 71.2% of respondents who had had SRS did so in a domestic hospital, approximately one in five of these respondents reported experiencing some form of discrimination, invasion of privacy, medical accident, or complications while a patient at a domestic hospital.

Regarding hormone therapy, the report states:<blockquote>Transgender people who reported using or having used hormone therapy in the past reported that the main channel through which they obtained hormone therapy drugs had been through “online pharmacies” (66%) or “obtained from friends” (51%). The most commonly reported method of using the drugs was “independently reading the directions for use or looking for information” (72%) and “consulting the opinions of friends” (66%).</blockquote>The report is intended "to provide government departments, international groups, and non-profit and for-profit organizations with a statistical foundation for an up-to-date understanding of China’s transgender population."<ref name=":4" />

In 2017, the Comprehensive Gender Dysphoria Clinic was opened.<ref name=":5" />

In 2021, The Children’s Hospital of Fudan University opened a clinic serving transgender children and teenagers in Shanghai.<ref name=":6">Cai Wenjun. 2021-11-05. "Nation's first transgender clinic opens in Shanghai." Shine. https://www.shine.cn/news/metro/2111057625/</ref> According to Xin Ying, director of the Beijing LGBT Center, the hospital's move was in line with World Health Organization’s 2019 guidelines on gender-identity related health.<ref name=":3" /> According to an article by Shine, "Professionals will conduct evaluations, diagnoses, psychological treatments and medication" to reduce the negative emotions of transgender minors and help improve their academic performances and family relationships, noting that hospital officials "said the clinic will serve as a bridge to connect transgender children with their families, doctors and society."<ref name=":6" />

According to a Global Times article about the clinic, Luo Feihong, director of the endocrine and genetic metabolic department of the Children's Hospital explained that the professional assessment, diagnosis, psychological treatment and necessary medicine intervention by doctors of multidisciplinary professions are of great help to reduce the negative emotions of transgender children and adolescents. Treatment improves their academic performance, their family relations, and builds a harmonious society.<ref>Nov 04, 2021. "China's first clinic for transgender children and adolescents set up in Shanghai." Global Times. URL: <nowiki>https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202111/1238161.shtml</nowiki></ref>

==== Media ====
The 2021 short documentary film "A Day of Trans" (Chinese: 跨越性别的一天) explores the lived experiences of four Chinese transgender individuals across three generations, exploring their professional career paths, community involvement, social barriers, and their unique approaches to life as transgender individuals across the generations. It is directed by Yennefer Fang, a Chinese transgender independent filmmaker. It follows Liu Peilin, who was born male in 1956 and was raised as a man by a foster family but she always felt like a woman, and started identify as a woman in her 40s. It also follows Mr. C, a 35-year-old transgender man, who became the public face in the fight for job equality in China in 2016 and who won a court case against his employer for discrimination for his gender identity. Finally, it follows two transgender artists who grew up during China's rapid economic growth, who talk about the greater chances they had to express themselves. They work at institutions that offer support to the transgender community. Fang, as a member of the community, said that she tries to observe the status of transgender people from an internal perspective and tries to dispel misconceptions through the documentary, including the perception that "transgenderism" is a contemporary or white, middle-class western term.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lY1L1p29vuc "A Day of Trans 跨越性别的一天"]. Yennefer Fang, Yennefer Fang Studios. YouTube. </ref><ref name=":33">Ji Yuqiao. [https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202111/1239389.shtml “New Documentary ‘a Day of Trans’ Explores Experiences of Three Generations of Chinese Transgender Persons."] Global Times. November 19, 2021. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220927204956/https://www.globaltimes.cn/page/202111/1239389.shtml Archived] 2022-09-17.</ref>

=== Republic of Cuba ===
[[File:The Conga Against Homophobia and Transphobia, part of the awareness campaign organized by CENESEX.png|thumb|303x303px|The Conga Against Homophobia and Transphobia is held every May in Havana, as part of the awareness campaign organized by CENESEX. The sign reads, "I am part of the Revolution, I too am Fidel."<ref name=":22">Nuria Barbosa León. 2018. “Defending Sexual Diversity.” Granma.cu. December 13, 2018. <nowiki>https://en.granma.cu/cuba/2018-12-13/defending-sexual-diversity</nowiki>.

‌</ref>]]On September 25, 2022 a referendum was held to approve amendments to the Family Code of the Cuban constitution. The referendum passed, legalizing same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption in Cuba, along with other changes such as greater protections provided for children and women's rights, and recognition of diverse family structures and bonds.<ref name=":28">Yeilén Delgado Calvo. [https://www.granma.cu/codigo-de-las-familias/2022-09-26/cuba-dijo-si-al-codigo-de-las-familias “Cuba Dijo Sí.”] [[Granma]]. September 26, 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220928124824/https://www.granma.cu/codigo-de-las-familias/2022-09-26/cuba-dijo-si-al-codigo-de-las-familias Archived] 2022-09-28.</ref><ref name=":29">Labrador, Maria. [https://en.granma.cu/cuba/2022-09-22/love-also-generates-kinship “Love Also Generates Kinship.”] Granma. September 22, 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220928125838/https://en.granma.cu/cuba/2022-09-22/love-also-generates-kinship Archived] 2022-09-28.</ref>

In 1979, laws criminalizing gays were eliminated in [[Republic of Cuba|Cuba]].<ref>{{Web citation|author=COHA|newspaper=Council on Hemispheric Affairs|title=From Persecution to Acceptance? The History of LGBT Rights in Cuba|date=2012-10-24|url=https://coha.org/from-persecution-to-acceptance-history-of-lgbt-in-cuba/|archive-url=https://archive.is/DsVL0|archive-date=2025-06-09|retrieved=2025-06-09|quote=In 1979 the Cuban government finally removed homosexual acts among consenting adults from the Penal Code as a criminal offense.}}</ref> In 1986 the National Commission on Sex Education introduced a program on homosexuality and bisexuality as healthy and positive. Prominent leaders like Cuban president Fidel Castro and Cuban Federation of Women president Vilma Espín began to speak out against anti-gay attitudes.<ref name=":23">Kanowitz, Saul. 2006. “Solidarity Is the Key to Advancing LGBT Rights – Liberation School.” Liberation School – Revolutionary Marxism for a New Generation of Fighters. May 31, 2006. https://www.liberationschool.org/06-05-31-solidarity-is-key-to-advancing-l-html/.

‌</ref> Cuba’s National Center for Sex Education (CENESEX), founded in 1988, "promotes sex education based on a socialist, emancipatory paradigm, recognizing the right to sexuality as inalienable" and is attached to the Ministry of Public Health.<ref name=":22" /> In 1997 all anti-gay references in Cuban laws were eliminated.<ref name=":23" /> The Cuban Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia has taken place annually since 2007.<ref name=":22" />

Since 2008, gender reassignment surgery and hormone replacement therapy have been available free of charge under Cuba’s national healthcare system. In regard to HIV-related issues, condoms are distributed, and sex education and access to antiretroviral drugs have increased.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Lydia Smith|newspaper=The Independent|title=Inside Cuba's LGBT revolution: How the island's attitudes to sexuality and gender were transformed|date=2018-01-04|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cuba-lgbt-revolution-gay-lesbian-transgender-rights-havana-raul-castro-a8122591.html|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/w9vOD|archive-date=2025-06-09|retrieved=2025-06-09}}</ref>

Historically, discriminatory laws existed for the LGBT community in Cuba, although modern efforts have been made to raise awareness and promote LGBT rights. It should be noted that bourgeois media has repeatedly taken advantage of the real, historical persecution of Cuba's LGBT community as an opportunity for inciting public opinion against Cuba and manufacturing consent for Cuba's destabilization. Meanwhile, the LGBT legal and social situation in Cuba continues to develop through the efforts of the Cuban people themselves, with LGBT rights and protections gradually expanding and being debated as education on the subject is promoted by activists and parts of the government in the context of Cuba's own history and culture.[[File:Conversation on cubadebate.cu about the 2022 family code.png|thumb|Users of cubadebate.cu hold a comment section discussion prior to the referendum about Cuba's Family Code (Código de las Familias), voicing their opinions for and against aspects of the change in law which includes the subject of same-sex marriage and parental rights.<ref>{{News citation|author=Yaima Puig Meneses|newspaper=CubaDebate|title=Código de las Familias: Una ley digna y construida por los cubanos (Family Code: A dignified law built by Cubans)|date=6 junio 2022|url=http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2022/06/06/codigo-de-las-familias-una-ley-digna-y-construida-por-los-cubanos/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802120720/http://www.cubadebate.cu/noticias/2022/06/06/codigo-de-las-familias-una-ley-digna-y-construida-por-los-cubanos/|archive-date=2022-08-02}}</ref>]]

==== 2022 Family Code ====
On September 25, 2022 amendments to the Family Code of the Cuban constitution were passed, legalizing same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption in Cuba, along with other changes such as greater protections provided for children and women's rights and recognition of diverse family structures and bonds.<ref name=":28" /><ref name=":29" />

A September 22, 2022 article in [[Granma]], the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the [[Communist Party of Cuba]], described the code prior to its adoption by saying, "For the first time ever, the Family Code recognizes diversity and the value of affection," and continues, "As never before, the Family Code provides the opportunity to strengthen family ties, to access collegiate conflict resolution, to open space for all members of a family to be heard, cared for and respected; it recognizes diversity and the value of affection. Each of the chapters of the Code is a door to inclusion, understanding and, logically, love."<ref name=":29" />

In a July 2022 article, Gay Community News wrote about Cuba's announcement to hold the landmark ‘Family Code’ referendum. The article notes:<blockquote>The consultations showed that approximately 62% of Cuban citizens are in favour of updating the constitution to provide for more inclusive legislation.

Tweeting the news of the assembly’s vote in favour of holding the referendum, Miguel Díaz-Canel, President of Cuba said “The deputies have just approved the #CódigoDeLasFamilias.”

Showing his support for a yes vote he continued “They do well to call it ‘Code of affections’ because it has developed something really new: affection as a legal value.”<ref name=":7">{{News citation|author=Han Tiernan|newspaper=GCN (Gay Community News)|title=Cuba to hold momentous referendum on same-sex marriage|date=25 JULY, 2022|url=https://gcn.ie/cuba-momentous-referendum-same-sex-marriage/}}</ref></blockquote>The article stated that, as well as improving the lives of same-sex couples and their families, the proposed changes to the legislation "would also see greater protections being provided for children as well as guaranteeing improved rights for women" and mentioned that if the referendum were to pass, Cuba would become the eighth country in South America to legalize same-sex marriage.<ref name=":7" />

==== LGBT rights education efforts and CENESEX ====

In regard to Cuba's cultural context as a formerly colonized society with a patriarchal and homophobic influence, a 2020 article on the English version of the CubaDebate website addresses Cuba's past persecution of the LGBT community and its modern efforts to promote education and acceptance about LGBT rights, placing this struggle in the context of global politics:<blockquote>Cuban culture has a strong patriarchal Hispanic-African heritage, with a long homophobic tradition, a model of domination imposed by the Spanish colonial system and its official religion, along with a worldwide scientific approach that stigmatized homosexuality.

When the Revolution triumphed, medical, psychological, social and legal sciences around the world took positions against homosexuality, and considered it an example of illness, insanity, moral decadence and deviation from social norms.

Unfortunately, the permanence of institutionalized homophobia in the first decades of the Revolution has not been analyzed in all its complexity. This situation is exploited by those who only see it as an opportunity to profit from the well-funded market of attacks on Cuba. Given this reality, it is essential that our institutions critically analyze practices that are inconsistent with the humanist spirit of the revolutionary process.<ref name=":15">{{News citation|newspaper=CubaDebate|title=Sexual rights and emancipation in Cuba|date=May 18th, 2020|url=http://en.cubadebate.cu/news/2020/05/18/sexual-rights-and-emancipation-cuba/}}</ref></blockquote>The article goes on to say that the initiative to celebrate the International Day against Homophobia and Transphobia, beginning May 17, 2007, has had "significant impact on the mobilization of the Cuban population’s social conscience" and furthermore, since 2008, "we have dedicated the entire month of May to developing educational and communication activities that promote respect for free sexual orientation and gender identities, as an exercise in justice and social equity, under the name of Cuban Days against Homophobia and Transphobia." According to the article, these days are coordinated by CENESEX, through the Ministry of Public Health (Minsap), along with other state institutions, the government, and the support of the Party at all levels. Campaigns have been focused on the family, school, work and, more recently, recognition of all rights for all people, without discrimination due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.<ref name=":15" />

Commenting on the state of the LGBT education campaign and legal status, the article says:<blockquote>In total harmony with these decisions, since 2019, our Constitution textually recognizes sexual and reproductive rights, prohibits discrimination against persons with non-homonormative sexualities, protects family diversity and clearly regulates marriage as a legal institution accessible to all persons without discrimination of any kind.

Of course, we still have a long way to go. That is why we educate for love and respectful coexistence, not for the perpetuation of relationships of domination or violence. We educate in the humanist and democratic principles that are inspired by the emancipatory paradigm of socialism, in freedom as a complex individual and collective responsibility. We will continue working until all justice is achieved.<ref name=":15" /></blockquote>Vázquez Seijido, assistant director of CENESEX, was quoted in a Granma International in a 2018 article as saying:<blockquote>Our institution is very diverse in terms of the activities undertaken. On the one hand, it dedicates important efforts to scientific research in order to obtain the grounds that support undergraduate and postgraduate training processes. We have diploma and masters programs, and we are working on a PhD program. We also teach several short and training courses, which we offer nationally and internationally. We also undertake various actions at the community level, visualized in the four major events held throughout the year, with a vast social and media impact.<ref name=":22" /></blockquote>According to Mariela Castro Espín, Director of the National Sex Education Center (CENESEX), on the topic of homophobia in the cultural and historical context of Cuba and the LGBT education efforts in a 2014 interview:<blockquote>This is a problem the world over. We have inherited a Spanish culture which is strongly patriarchal, homophobic, and highly discriminative. Such a long period of prejudices cannot be eliminated immediately. But, are we going to continue reproducing the oppressive, exploitative past, the past which invents prejudices in order to dominate persons? This is a society in search of socialism; we are fighting to articulate revolutionary ideas which will guarantee a society where the genuine emancipation of human beings is attained.

For that reason, we must go on working, with the support of the media, in different actions which invite reflection. When we talk about an educative strategy, we are talking about education with a bio-ethical viewpoint, which invites dialogue and reflection. We do not want to impose our viewpoints. [...] The most important thing we have achieved is dialogue. The Cuban population is discussing these issues. We receive many letters of thanks, telephone calls, messages on our webpage [...] Many people approach us and tell us very gratifying things, like “now I’m a better person,” “thanks to your work I no longer discriminate against my children,” or “I no longer feel afraid of homosexuality.”<ref>Liberation School. 2014. “Cuba: ‘for Families Free of Homophobia’ – Liberation School.” Liberation School – Revolutionary Marxism for a New Generation of Fighters. August 12, 2014. <nowiki>https://www.liberationschool.org/cuba-for-families-free-of-homophobia/</nowiki>.

‌</ref></blockquote>Liberation News provides a brief overview of Cuba's legal history regarding LGBT matters, saying that in the early years of the revolution, the attitudes and policies in Cuba were similar to the prevailing ideas elsewhere in the world, and that as the revolution developed, "the impact of the international LGBT struggle began to be felt" and was followed by a removal of anti-LGBT laws in 1979, and a growing public awareness and legal protections for the LGBT community.<ref name=":23" />

=== Democratic People's Republic of Korea ===
Information about the [[Democratic People's Republic of Korea]] (DPRK) is hampered by a lack of reliable information and a preponderance of deliberate disinformation. A commonly used source of information about DPRK is the testimony of defectors, but the defectors are not necessarily reliable sources for several reasons, such as cash incentives that encourage more sensational testimonies, and the mediation of testimonies through U.S. and South Korean intelligence agencies. In an article of the South Korean publication [[Hankyoreh]], an analysis is made of the media situation surrounding DPRK: "Time and time again, conservative outlets and foreign media circulate and reproduce rumors based on questionable sources [...] Notably, retractions and apologies are rarely ever provided when the reports are shown to be false."<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Hankyoreh|title=[News analysis] The insidious threat of fake news surrounding North Korea|date=May.5,2020|url=https://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_northkorea/943697.html}}</ref> It is important to keep in mind this situation when seeking information about DPRK. Due to the lack of information and the questionability of information about DPRK, an analysis of LGBT rights in the country will be generally permeated with these problems.

==== LGBT legal situation ====
The Constitution of North Korea does not explicitly address discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Homosexuality and transgender issues are not formally addressed in the penal code of DPRK.

[[Dermot Hudson]], who is associated with the [[Korean Friendship Association]], stated in an interview with Vice that "The DPRK has not legalized gay marriage, but it does not have laws prohibiting homosexuality. In the past, DPRK publications have made critical remarks about homosexuality, but it is not seen as a big priority either way."<ref>Angus Blair. [https://www.vice.com/en/article/yvqpk5/an-interview-with-north-koreas-uk-spokesman "An Interview with North Korea’s UK Spokesman."] Vice.com. March 6, 2014.

</ref>

According to the website of [[Young Pioneer Tours]], a tour company that operates in DPRK, "homosexuality is not against the law in North Korea, and people from the LGBT community are more than welcome to travel here – in fact, openly gay tour guides have frequently led tours here without issue. That being said, North Korea is a sexually conservative country, and this applies to sexuality anywhere on the spectrum," adding that "Overt shows of affection by anyone of any sexual orientation tend to be frowned upon" in DPRK.<ref name=":25">[https://www.youngpioneertours.com/lgbt-north-korea/ “Can LGBT People Travel to North Korea? — Young Pioneer Tours.”] 2019. Young Pioneer Tours. May 10, 2019. [https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.youngpioneertours.com/lgbt-north-korea/ Archive URL].

‌</ref>

A defector named Lee Je-sun, interviewed in 2015, gave an example of a situation in which parents tried to prevent their daughter from being in a lesbian relationship. Although they would try to call the police to break up the relationship, Lee explains that the police have no power to arrest her because homosexuality is not illegal in DPRK. Lee explains that "even if the police wanted to play hardball," the same-sex couple couldn't be arrested, and all the police could do to enforce the parents' wishes was "make them write a letter in which they promise not to cross-dress" after which the daughter would be free to go.<ref name=":17" />

Regarding DPRK's views on human rights in general, the ''Understanding Korea'' by Kim Ji Ho states: <blockquote>The DPRK government will make constant efforts to perfect the system of human rights laws to give fuller play to the advantages of the people-centred socialism of the Korean style, on the basis of the experience and lessons gained in establishing human rights mechanisms so far. It will develop the system of socialist human rights laws by stipulating afresh the omitted parts of the system, amending and supplementing the existing ones and formulating new rights in the direction of raising the effectiveness of human rights legislation to the maximum and fully reflecting the demands of norms of international human rights laws. It will fully reflect the people’s demands and interests in working out human rights laws and encourage them to actively participate in this undertaking. Officials in the legislation of human rights laws will be encouraged to have consultation with the masses, give an ear to their voice and accept their good opinions. The system of petition will be used more effectively so that everyone can present his or her opinion on the work of formulating new human rights laws or amending and supplementing the existing ones. <ref name=":24" /> </blockquote>Regarding prospects for the rights of "special groups", ''Understanding Korea'' states: "Regarding the protection and promotion of the rights of special groups, including children, women, the elderly and people with disabilities, as an important task, the DPRK government is making strenuous efforts for its implementation." Kim Ji Ho also calls attention to the aggressive U.S. and Western policies towards DPRK that aim to stifle and destabilize the country, which causes a great negative impact on the Korean people's ability to enjoy their rights:<blockquote>The economic sanctions and blockade the US, in collusion with its vassal states, has imposed on the DPRK have been unprecedented in their viciousness and tenacity. These moves are aimed, in essence, at isolating and stifling the country and destabilizing it so as to overthrow its system. The moves the US resorts to by enlisting even its vassal states are a crime against human rights and humanity, which check the sovereign state’s right to development and exert a great negative impact on its people’s enjoying of their rights, a crime as serious as wartime genocide.<ref name=":24" /></blockquote>Kim states that DPRK places a focus on economic development as a way of promoting human rights, contrasting it with U.S. and western efforts to stifle and destabilize DPRK by raising concern about "human rights" in DPRK, and states that DPRK "attaches importance to the development of the sectors that are directly linked to improving the people’s living standards, provides the working people with wonderful conditions for labour and material life, and steadily improves the people’s living standards through the expansion of the people-oriented policies of the ruling party and the government." Kim adds that "Despite the continued moves of the US and its followers to isolate and stifle the DPRK, the government advances policies for the protection and promotion of human rights of the people and is making every effort to bring them into effect."<ref name=":24" />

==== LGBT social situation ====
According to various defector testimonies and anecdotal stories of tourists to DPRK, the Western conceptualization of LGBT identities is not widespread in DPRK.<ref name=":19">Oliver Hotham. November 13, 2013. "Being Gay in the DPRK". NK News. URL: https://www.nknews.org/2013/11/being-gay-in-the-dprk/</ref><ref name=":26" /><ref name=":17" /> Although the Western framework of LGBT identity is not widespread in DPRK, defectors who have later encountered the Western conceptualization of LGBT identities have later described themselves or others as being gay, lesbians, or bisexuals, and described gender non-conforming people, as well as describing situational homosexuality in the military.<ref name=":26" /><ref name=":17" /> Accounts of former DPRK citizens as well as of visitors to DPRK have described varying attitudes and levels of awareness about LGBT issues among individual people in DPRK.<ref name=":17" /><ref name=":19" /> An article by ''NK News'' states that "Korean culture is traditionally conservative and any displays of open sexuality are frowned upon" and suggests that north Korean attitudes toward homosexuality can be compared to those of south Korea in the recent past.<ref name=":19" />

Jang Yeong-jin (장영진), an openly gay North Korean defector, wrote a semi-autobiographical book titled ''A Mark of Red Honor'' (Korean title: ''붉은 넥타이'') about his experience of defecting due to his unfulfilling relationship with his wife, and his later discovery of and identification with the gay identity after his defection.<ref name=":32">{{Web citation|newspaper=서울신문|title=동성애 탈북자 장영진씨 “북한 떠난 지 25년 만에 짝 찾아 결혼 계획” (Homosexual defector Jang Young-jin "plans to find a mate and marry him after 25 years of leaving North Korea")|date=2021-03-21|url=https://www.seoul.co.kr/news/newsView.php?id=20210321500086}}</ref> In an interview, he describes how in DPRK he never encountered the concept of homosexuality and sought out doctors to find out why we was not attracted to his wife, but found no conclusive reasons. He also states that homosexual behaviors are common in the military, but that this is more due to the long celibacy policy of the military service, saying "there is almost no awareness of homosexuality in the North" and that "it is very common for men to hug and kiss each other in the military". He adds that "there is no concept of homosexuality, or any problem with it."<ref name=":26">{{Web citation|author=최재봉|newspaper=Hankyoreh|title=탈북자이자 성소수자 작가, 이중의 장벽에 맞서다 (North Korean defector and LGBT writer confronting the double barrier)|date=2015-04-16|url=https://www.hani.co.kr/arti/culture/book/687207.html}}</ref>

In a panel discussion hosted by [[Nodutdol]], participants of the [[Korea Education and Exposure Program]] (KEEP), who travelled to DPRK with delegations of people of the Korean diaspora, discussed their experiences in north Korea. One panelist stated that two members of their delegation identified as queer and were interested in discussing the topic of queerness and queer politics with north Koreans if they got the chance to, noting that although "queerness" may be regarded as a Western construct, they were still interested in discussing the topic. Toward the end of their trip, they gave their translators a brief glossary of LGBT terminology. They explained, "we created a brief list, a glossary of terms related to LGBT communities, and we just handed it to them. And the following delegation after us, in 2013 I believe--this is what I heard from them--they found out that the interpreters really studied the words, the language exchange that we did, and they integrated these new words into their work." The panelist concluded, "it's not a homophobic country. It's like, we can't make that kind of assumptions, either." Another panelist commented, "We were queer, we were bi-racial, bi-ethnic, you know, and there was this really overwhelming embracing of us as Koreans".<ref>[https://eastisapodcast.libsyn.com/keep-stories-from-north-korea "KEEP: Stories from North Korea."] Panel discussion hosted by Nodutdol. [[The East is a Podcast]], March 7, 2022.</ref>

According to The Korean Friendship Association, quoted in ''NK News'': <blockquote>The Korean Friendship Association, the leading international organization promoting North Korea, insists that even more liberal treatment takes place, claiming that “the DPRK recognizes that many individuals are born with homosexuality as a genetic trait and treats them with due respect…Homosexuals in the DPRK have never been subject to repression, as in many capitalist regimes around the world.”<ref name=":19" /></blockquote>The ''NK News'' article comments that "North Korean propaganda has referred to homosexuality as something foreign and un-Korean, a product of western imperialism and vice. [...] A cursory look through KCNA archives brings up little mention of homosexuality in the DPRK; any mentions of it are devoted to criticizing either the United States or Japanese imperialism. Homosexuality is often portrayed as a form of imperialist humiliation –in the same category as the sexual enslavement of Korean women during the Japanese occupation." Hazel Smith, described as a "North Korea watcher" at the Wilson Institute, was reported in the article as saying that homosexuality as it is conceived of in the West does not exist conceptually in DPRK. The article also talks about the experiences of gay tourists in DPRK:<blockquote>Simon Cockerell, who runs North Korea travel service Koryo Tours, says he frequently takes gay western tourists to North Korea, and the responses are often surprising.

“When (North Koreans) meet gay tourists (of which there are many) they often think it is quite funny,” he said, “a little bit of a playground attitude, basically.”

“I wouldn’t say I have seen much in the way of homophobia from any North Koreans at all,” Cockerell said. “After all, you may hate that which you don’t understand, but its hard to be anti-something that you have no real conception of at all.”

[...] A gay tourist who has visited the DPRK several times who chose to remain anonymous, told ''NK News'' that during his last visit he had been escorted around the country by two very different tour guides. One, a girl from an elite Pyongyang family, exhibited an awareness of homosexuality and the other, a male who had never left the country, seemed unaware of it even as an idea.

When the tour concluded the source noted that: “the female guide even said something approving of the couple being together, and how nice it was that they had decided to be ‘best friends’ for life”. Not a remarkably progressive statement, certainly, but in a country where homosexuality seems to barely be recognized, this tour guide’s acceptance of a gay couple is certainly noticeable.<ref name=":19" /></blockquote>Young Pioneer Tours answers questions on their website about LGBT travelers to DPRK, saying that, "anything outside heteronormativity" is not something to which people in DPRK are accustomed, and state that the most that a LGBT traveler to DPRK can expect in terms of scrutiny is curiosity about their sexual orientation. However, the tour company also notes that asking people from DPRK questions of a sexual nature may cause offense, and should be avoided. They state that LGBT visitors to DPRK "will be accommodated and made to feel welcome in the country".<ref name=":25" />

A defector named Lee Je-sun, interviewed in 2015, stated that "transgender people do exist in North Korea" but that they do not receive sexual reassignment surgery, noting limitations in the medical infrastructure and the cost of such procedures. Lee also states that while in DPRK, they had never come across the terms "gay" and "lesbian" but that they had noticed people with a "different sexual preference" and said "as long as they were good people, we didn’t have any problem being friends with them regardless of their sexual preference" and also says later in the interview that they had met many lesbians in DPRK and that many of them wore men's clothes, kept their hair short, and "acted like men" and liked to date women. In regard to discrimination, Lee said "people would gossip from time to time because they didn’t have anything else to do in their free time. People didn’t treat them with contempt and the LGBTs were never shunned or excluded from the society" but also notes that same-sex relationships have a "bad reputation" among some people, such as parents who try to prevent their daughters from being in lesbian relationships. Lee remarked on lesbian relationships, saying that "adults used to say that they’re so sweet to their girlfriends. Once you fall in love with them, you’re not likely to be attracted to men again. [...] Parents of girls would do anything to keep their daughters from lesbian girlfriends." Lee mentions that although some parents would try to get legal authorities involved to split up their daughters' same-sex relationships, the police had no legal ability to arrest them for homosexuality, and after writing a letter promising not to cross-dress, they would be free to go.<ref name=":17" />

===== Interview of a defector on LGBT social situation =====
[[File:NK News article about LGBT.png|thumb|774x774px|A screenshot of the interview about LGBT issues in DPRK appearing in NK News.]]
'''''Note:''' There are some apparent editorial comments/questions in parentheses in the original article, and they are preserved here in translation. Additionally, the Korean language often uses gender-neutral pronouns, as well as leaving pronouns out of sentences, although gendered forms of pronouns do exist and may be used. Therefore, the use of pronouns below may be ambiguous or inconsistent with English language conventions.''

In a 2015 Korean-language article titled "Are there gays in North Korea? I asked a North Korean!"<ref name=":17">NK News. 2015-02-08. [https://kr.nknews.org/%EB%B6%81%ED%95%9C%EC%97%90%EB%8F%84-%EA%B2%8C%EC%9D%B4%EA%B0%80-%EC%9E%88%EB%82%98%EC%9A%94-%EB%B6%81%ED%95%9C-%EC%82%AC%EB%9E%8C%EC%97%90%EA%B2%8C-%EB%AC%BC%EC%96%B4%EB%B4%A4%EC%8A%B5%EB%8B%88/ "북한에도 게이가 있나요? 북한 사람에게 물어봤습니다!"] ("Are there gays in North Korea? I asked a North Korean!") NK News. [https://kr.nknews.org/%EB%B6%81%ED%95%9C%EC%97%90%EB%8F%84-%EA%B2%8C%EC%9D%B4%EA%B0%80-%EC%9E%88%EB%82%98%EC%9A%94-%EB%B6%81%ED%95%9C-%EC%82%AC%EB%9E%8C%EC%97%90%EA%B2%8C-%EB%AC%BC%EC%96%B4%EB%B4%A4%EC%8A%B5%EB%8B%88/ URL]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220803063529/https://kr.nknews.org/%EB%B6%81%ED%95%9C%EC%97%90%EB%8F%84-%EA%B2%8C%EC%9D%B4%EA%B0%80-%EC%9E%88%EB%82%98%EC%9A%94-%EB%B6%81%ED%95%9C-%EC%82%AC%EB%9E%8C%EC%97%90%EA%B2%8C-%EB%AC%BC%EC%96%B4%EB%B4%A4%EC%8A%B5%EB%8B%88/ Archive URL]. [https://archive.md/sOwSw Archived English Version].</ref> the following descriptions are given, identified in the article as being provided by Lee Je-sun (이제선), their age stated as "late 20s" and who defected in 2011.

Commenting on their own attitude toward apparently LGBT individuals:<blockquote>Actually, it was in a South Korean school, while listening to a lecture about women's studies, that I learned about LGBT, since in North Korea I never heard anything about the concept of lesbians or gays. While I was listening to that lecture, I started to piece together [...] things I had experienced in North Korea. When I lived in North Korea, I didn't really think anything about them other than thinking of them as unusual people with unusual tastes. That's because whatever someone's sexual orientation may be, if they like people, we can become friends without any issue. People around would talk behind their back, but they were busy earning a living, so it was just the chatter of older ladies in their free time, and it wasn't contempt or exclusion. [...] I believe that understanding, consideration, and social concern for sexual minorities are necessary. </blockquote>On the topic of male homosexuality, the interviewee stated:<blockquote>I have not personally seen gays directly. I've only heard that that kind of behavior comes up a lot in the military, according to what adults said. [...] However, as this could just be an alternative way of relieving the desire for women, it's a bit difficult to conclude that it's gay (homosexuality).</blockquote>Describing an apparently gender non-conforming individual, the interviewee said:<blockquote>When I was younger, I once went on a mobilization out to a rural farming village. In North Korea, each year in autumn the first through third-year high school students are sent out to a farming village for a month in order to provide support. At that time, in a very remote country village, I saw an unusual person.

They definitely looked like a man, but they wore heavy makeup, and every day they would sit on the stepping stones by the stream. I was quite curious, so I asked the townspeople, and they said that the person was a man but they kept on wearing women's clothing and putting on makeup, so their parents--who were in the city--sent them to go live in the village. I would secretly look at this person with my friends. I found them odd but also fascinating.</blockquote>Regarding lesbian relationships, the interviewee stated:<blockquote>I actually saw a lot of lesbians, and even hung out with them. I don't know if it's because I'm a woman, but there were a number of lesbians around. The majority of the lesbians liked wearing mens' clothing. They also would have their hair in a short, sporty style and wear mens' clothing, and would have masculine behaviors. They all liked dating women. According to what adults would say, if a women got involved with one of them, it would be difficult to break up, because it's better than being with a man. They themselves would like it, but the people around them wouldn't. There is also one's social image, and especially the sentiment that one's parents would never give permission.</blockquote>Regarding the disapproving response of parents to lesbian couples, and the attitude of the police:<blockquote>People naturally like talking behind others' backs, don't they? The people around them (the lesbian couple) would guess about things they weren't even doing, which would spread rumors. The lesbian's parents had already given up (?) their daughter, so it didn't matter, but the heterosexual girl's parents' stance was different.

In order to find some way to get their daughter out of it, they even made a report to the police and hit her. However, even though the police went to get the lesbian, there was no law for punishing her. At most, the police could only scold her for public indecency, and as it would also be difficult for them to hold her accountable for a serious offense, they had her write a pledge to not wear men's' clothes again. The important thing is that even though people would laugh or talk about the lesbians, people didn't despise or exclude them.</blockquote>Regarding an apparently gender non-conforming and/or possibly intersex and/or bisexual individual, the interviewee said:<blockquote>There was one unusual person living the next neighborhood over. They were neither a woman nor a man. Thanks to this, the people in that neighborhood were never bored. I didn't know whether I should call them ajimi (big sister?) or uncle, to the point that I would even hesitate because I couldn't distinguish. That person even had a husband and a pair of kids. Even so, they were having an affair with a woman so there was always gossip about them.

This person was masculine to the extent that on first glance, anyone would think they were a man. They had a fuller chest than anyone else, but people took this person to be a man. In North Korea, women can't ride bikes but she alone could ride one.

This was because even the traffic police couldn't distinguish their gender. While they were trying to determine whether they were a woman or a man, they would already have passed by. They also had a good personality and a kind heart, so I liked them a lot. [...]

Whenever I went to my friend's house, they always came there, and they would do all of the house chores that a man does. Of course they maintained a good relationship with their husband and took care of their kids and financial parts, they were responsible for all of these things. Something people were very curious about regarding this person was actually, more so than about them being bisexual, that they earned money well and maintained the house well, maybe they were jealous of her diligence. </blockquote>The interviewee addresses sexual reassignment surgery procedures, speaking on both intersex-related and gender-affirming reassignment surgery:<blockquote>In regards to sex reassignment, rather than by individual inclination, it is handled by the government. For example I have heard that if someone is born and they physically don't have male or female genitalia, in the hospital where they are born, after a consultation is done with their parents, they will perform a sex reassignment surgery. However, I haven't experienced this personally and neither has anyone I know, so this is just hearsay.

I can confidently say that it is completely impossible in North Korea to change sex based on one's own sexual orientation, regardless of physiological issues. That's because medical facilities aren't developed enough, and there aren't wealthy people to pay the huge expenses in order to support their sexual orientation.<ref name=":17" /></blockquote>

==== Unreliability of defector testimonies ====
''See also: [[Library:DPRK Study Guide|DPRK Study Guide]]''

Jiyoung Song, former UN Consultant for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights who has interviewed North Korean defectors since 1999, wrote in a 2015 article for the Asia and Pacific Policy Society, that "numerous" testimonies by North Korean defectors "are later found unreliable" and that there is "a fundamental question about heavily relying on defectors’ testimonies as credible evidence" adding, "there are issues with the current methodologies used in investigating North Korean human rights and serious ethical dilemmas many researchers have to deal with."<ref name=":18">{{Web citation|author=Jiyoung Song|newspaper=Asia and the Pacific Policy Society|title=Unreliable witnesses: The challenge of separating truth from fiction when it comes to North Korea|date=2015-08-02|url=https://www.policyforum.net/unreliable-witnesses/}}</ref>

Among the issues with the current methods of obtaining defector testimonies, Song includes that cash payments have been "standard practice" in the field, paying up to $200 USD per hour as of 2014, and that in South Korea, defectors are paid between $50 to $500 USD per hour, "depending on the quality of information s/he had." Regarding this, Song states that this practice "raises serious questions about the payment as ethical research: What is the impact of payment on interviewees’ stories? How does the payment change the relation between a researcher and an interviewee? The more exclusive stories they have, the higher the fees are." According to Song, "North Korean refugees are well aware of what the interviewer wants to hear" and "The more terrible their stories are, the more attention they receive. The more international invitations they receive, the more cash comes in. It is how the capitalist system works: competition for more tragic and shocking stories."<ref name=":18" />

On her personal experience with interviewing North Korean defectors, former UN Consultant Jiyoung Song states:<blockquote>In my 16 years of studying North Korean refugees, I have experienced numerous inconsistent stories, intentional omission and lies. I have also witnessed some involved in fraud and other illicit activities. In one case the breach of trust was so significant that I could not continue research. It affected my professional capacity to analyse and deliver credible stories in an ethical manner but also had a deep impact on personal trust I invested in the human subjects I sincerely cared about.<ref name=":18" /></blockquote>Song also speaks on the role of intelligence agencies in mediating such testimonies:<blockquote>Behind all these challenges in studying North Korean refugees, there has been a lingering question about the role of the South Korean National Intelligence Service in the making of North Korean defector-activists. The sudden rise and disappearance of certain North Korean defectors, their testimonies before foreign parliaments and the UN or the spread of unverifiable sources of information through major news outlets seem to be facilitated by a combination of various individual and institutional forces.<ref name=":18" /></blockquote>
=== Lao People's Democratic Republic ===
[[File:Proud to Be Us (Laos).png|thumb|A photo from the organization Proud to be Us (Laos), a LGBT civil society organization in Laos.<ref name=":20">{{Web citation|newspaper=Civil Society Laos|title=Proud to Be Us (Laos)|url=https://www.laocivilsociety.org/en/business/proud-to-be-us-laos/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220803082338/https://www.laocivilsociety.org/en/business/proud-to-be-us-laos/}}</ref>]]Same-sex sexual activity is legal in [[Lao People's Democratic Republic|Laos]], and is not believed to have ever been criminalized. Currently, there are no laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, and the national Constitution of Laos does not expressly address sexual orientation or gender identity issues. Regarding citizens' rights in relation to gender, Article 35 states "Lao citizens are all equal before the law irrespective of their gender, social status, education, beliefs and ethnic group" and Article 37 states "Citizens of both genders enjoy equal rights in the political, economic, cultural and social fields and in family affairs."<ref>{{Web citation|author=Translated by Khamphaeng Phochanthilath|newspaper=Constitutions Project|title=Lao People's Democratic Republic's Constitution of 1991 with Amendments through 2015|url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Laos_2015.pdf?lang=en}}</ref>

According to a study by APCOM published in 2020, "LGBTQI people in Laos are living in a relatively tolerant society. While it is observed that the LGBTQI community in Lao can express themselves, there are challenges to being LGBTQI in Lao society. Some of the social, cultural and religious beliefs and norms are connected to LGBTQI people experiencing stigma, discrimination and marginalization." The report notes that although Lao culture is "for the most part" "rather tolerant" of homosexuality, lesbians are particularly misunderstood in Laos.<ref name=":30">[https://www.apcom.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-11-26_Report_APCOM_FinanceInc_LaoPDR_Rev_2-withLogos.pdf "The State of LGBTQI People’s Economic Inclusion: Lao PDR."] APCOM. 2020. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220929030759/https://www.apcom.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/2020-11-26_Report_APCOM_FinanceInc_LaoPDR_Rev_2-withLogos.pdf Archived] 2022-09-29.</ref>

The report also states, "The government is more open to opening and expanding space for civil society organizations to work on LGBTQI issues; there are now elected transgender, lesbian and gay public officials; many LGBTQI people can access information through social media, and more and more people seem to be coming out. On the other hand, there are still many forms of violence and discrimination happening every day to LGBT people in Laos. Society’s structural focus on binary gender norms and the heterosexual unit of the family prevents people from having a better understanding of LGBT issues."

The APCOM study described the most significant forms of LGBT discrimination in Laos as a significant lack of recognition as individuals with aspirations, potential and agency because of traditional societal and family structures, in addition to stigma, discrimination and misunderstanding of LGBTQI identities by society at large, particularly towards lesbians, as well as discrimination in educational institutions and in the workplace and health facilities, and a lack of mechanisms to report violence and discrimination.<ref name=":30" />

The Government of Lao People’s Democratic Republic, health workers, teachers, parents, and community leaders has worked to design programs supported by the The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The goal is to promote the rights of young people and encourage them to access information, care, and assistance. One example of such activity was a mobile clinic which reached youth, including LGBTQI youth, in remote areas and equipped them with sexual and reproductive health resources.<ref>[https://www.friendsofunfpa.org/unfpa-helps-laotian-lgbtqi-youth-find-peace-purpose-and-community/ “UNFPA Helps Laotian LGBTQI Youth Find Peace, Purpose, and Community.”] Friends of UNFPA. May 19, 2021. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220119132732/https://www.friendsofunfpa.org/unfpa-helps-laotian-lgbtqi-youth-find-peace-purpose-and-community/ Archived] 2022-01-19.</ref>

According to a 2008 U.S. Department of State "Human Rights Report": "Within lowland Lao society, despite wide and growing tolerance of homosexual practices, societal discrimination persisted against such practices. There was no official discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS, but social discrimination existed. The government actively promoted tolerance of those with HIV/AIDS, and it conducted awareness campaigns to educate the population and promote understanding toward such persons."<ref>[https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119045.htm "2008 Human Rights Report: Laos."] U.S. Department of State. 2008 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. February 25, 2009. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090226175604/http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2008/eap/119045.htm Archive] URL.</ref>

==== Lao Youth and Adolescent Development Strategy ====
According to the Lao Youth and Adolescent Development Strategy for 2021-2030, published by the Lao People's Revolutionary Youth Union in August 2021, "Diverse groups of adolescents and youth, such as out of school, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex, and adolescents and youth with disabilities, were consulted" in the strategy formulation process.<ref>[https://lao.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/lao_youth_and_adolescent_development_strategy_2021-2030_eng_26nov21-final.pdf "Lao Youth and Adolescent Development Strategy 2021-2030."] The Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union. August 2021. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220430034558/https://lao.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/pub-pdf/lao_youth_and_adolescent_development_strategy_2021-2030_eng_26nov21-final.pdf Archived] 2022-04-30.</ref> The APCOM study mentions the Lao People’s Democratic Republic National Adolescent and Youth Policy includes affirmative action for vulnerable adolescents and youth which includes LGBTQI people. Lao People’s Revolutionary Youth Union which is one of the mass youth organizations in Laos and has been lobbying to put emphasis on vulnerable adolescents and youth.<ref name=":30" />

==== Proud to Be Us Laos ====
According to the website Civil Society Laos, the LGBT organization Proud to Be Us Laos (PTBUL) is directed by Anan Bouapha was established in 2012, operates in Vientiane, and has the stated goal to "Support people with sexual and gender diversity (LGBTIQ) to participate in national development affairs and be the spokesperson/representative of people of sexual and gender diversity in the Lao PDR in order to work with the government to address issues related to this community."<ref name=":20" />

According to Bouapha, PTBUL's director, in a 2015 article: "LGBT’ is still abstract terminology, yet to be clearly identified to the eyes and ears of the public." Additionally, Bouapha is quoted as saying that "Many people might think that Laos is conservative and extremely close-minded when it comes to LGBT issues. Realistically, our culture and mentality seem to be quite open-minded to people from all walks of life [...] I have seen many transgender people wearing traditional costumes to temples, attending traditional ceremonies and some gay students expressing his identity among his peers and teachers."<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=J&C Group|title=In Laos, An Invisible Minority Is Finding Its Voice|date=2015-10-20|url=https://jclao.com/in-laos-an-invisible-minority-is-finding-its-voice/}}</ref>

In 2019, members of PTBUL participated in an event for the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, which a 2019 UNESCO article states "was a chance for them to show society at home and the international community that LGBTI people in Laos not only exist, but are ready to be seen and heard" and states that with "around 150 participants, mostly Lao government officials, foreign diplomats and members of civil society organizations, it was the biggest IDAHOT celebration to occur in the country to date."<ref>{{Web citation|author=David Young|newspaper=UNESCO|title=Being LGBTI in Laos: Increasing visibility and support of a growing movement|date=29 May 2019|url=https://bangkok.unesco.org/content/being-lgbti-laos-increasing-visibility-and-support-growing-movement}}</ref>

==== Community Health and Inclusion Association (CHIAs) ====
CHIAs is a non profit organization established in 2012, which aims to promote and ensure that empowerment, rights and gender approaches are integrated in all new and revised programmes, policies, and frameworks on health and development that affect the key, vulnerable and marginalized groups. They describe their target group as "Young key, vulnerable population (KVP) who are living and affected by diseases including people Who Use and Inject Drug (PWUD-PWID), LGBTIQ, Sex Workers, Mobile & Migrant including ethnic and disability."<ref>[https://www.laocivilsociety.org/en/business/community-health-and-inclusion-association-chias/ “Community Health and Inclusion Association (CHIAs).”] Lao Civil Society. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220929040532/https://www.laocivilsociety.org/en/business/community-health-and-inclusion-association-chias/ Archived] 2022-09-29.</ref>

==== Health services for LGBTQI people in Laos ====
According to the 2020 APCOM study, when participants were asked about ordinary health services they have access to, the most common answers were sexual health services. Gay male participants reported they had access to HIV tests, sexual transmitted disease (STIs) treatment, primary healthcare. Some of them had access to cosmetic/plastic surgery in [[Thailand]]; Lesbian participants had access to general health care but there is no specific HIV and STIs services; Trans men participants had access to general health care but there is no specific HIV and STIs services; Trans women participants all had access to HIV and STD treatment and general health services. Some of them also undertook plastic surgeries in Thailand. Hormone injections were available in Laos but had not been administered by medical doctors; Bisexuals were able to access HIV treatment, STIs and general health care. All the participants reported dissatisfaction with the medical environment in terms of encountering discriminatory attitudes. Trans women also seem to face higher incidences of discrimination from health service providers. The report recommends that health professionals should receive training on LGBTQI people’s mental and sexual health; and specifically, on mental and sexual health for trans people, including hormonal counselling.<ref name=":30" />

==== Media ====
The 2019 short film "Let's Love" explores the struggles of its main subject, Mai, a lesbian in Laos and her complex relationships with her family, friends and wider society as she navigates her identity.<ref>[http://seajunction.org/lets-love-on-lesbian-invisibility-in-laos-thanita/ “Let’s Love: On Lesbian Invisibility in Laos - SEA Junction.”] SEA Junction. February 21, 2019. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220929025117/http://seajunction.org/lets-love-on-lesbian-invisibility-in-laos-thanita/ Archived] 2022-09-29.</ref>

=== Socialist Republic of Vietnam ===
[[File:PFLAG Vietnam Photo.jpg|thumb|A photo of from the PFLAG Vietnam Facebook Group. PFLAG is an organization for supporting, educating, and advocating for LGBTQ+ people and their families.]]According to a 2022 article by Vietnam Investment Review, "[[Socialist Republic of Vietnam|Vietnam]] has implemented some legislative protections for the LGBTI+ population. In 2014, the new Marriage and Family Law lifted the restriction on same-sex marriage; while Article 37 of the 2015 Civil Code, which went into effect in 2017, permits gender reassignment surgery."<ref name=":12">{{News citation|author=Hue Anh|newspaper=Vietnam Investment Review|title=Vietnamese LGBTI+ people paint their own identities|date=July 06, 2022|url=https://vir.com.vn/vietnamese-lgbti-people-paint-their-own-identities-94707.html}}</ref>

According to an ILGA Asia report from 2021, "In general, there is more social and cultural tolerance toward LGBTIQ people in the larger cities than that in rural areas. Politically, LGBTIQ activists in Vietnam perceived that they can be more focused when they have to deal with only one single party government."<ref name=":14" />

The ILGA report, quoting one of its members, says the following regarding the relationship between activists and the single party government in Vietnam:<blockquote>Lawmakers do not know about LGBTIQ and we [activists] provide them with information. Gradually, this has become a peaceful relationship…. Ministries consulted with us about LGBTIQ related issues and vice versa. I think by acting as government’s ally, we can achieve more …and we tactfully advocate for more “space” for our movements and for other human rights CSOs in Vietnam… A vivid example is that we can prove to the world that parades [VietPride events] can be conducted in this country…. The interesting thing is that in Vietnam, human rights can lean on LGBTIQ rights to sustain, that is totally different in many contexts in the world that I would know.<ref name=":14" /></blockquote>A 2021 article published by [[NonLa Collective]], who describe themselves as a "digital front of Vietnamese communists", speaks on the topic of LGBT issues in Vietnamese politics and history:<blockquote>As we see it, gender and sexuality liberation has a different character in Vietnam as opposed to capitalist countries precisely because of it NOT being driven by economics. We agree [...] that bourgeois-liberal identity politics constitute little more than marketing ploys and cynical co-opting of LGBTQ+ issues.

Vietnam’s traditional culture was quite open in many ways in terms of gender and sexual liberty, especially compared to contemporary cultures. For instance, being gay has ''never'' been criminalized in Vietnam at any point in recorded history, and we have rich traditions such as the Lên đồng, which allowed trans people to live openly in our society.

Prejudices against gay and trans people in Vietnam were heavily exacerbated by foreign influences: first by feudalism, as Neo-Confucianism imposed upon our society the idea that we must be “breeders” (that we are not patriotic or socially subservient if we do not get married and produced children), and next by colonialism, as the French imposed Western prejudices and intolerances on us for many decades.

Therefore, our LGBTQ+ liberation movement has a much different character than Western countries and must be viewed as such. At a grassroots level, Vietnam has native access and traditional experiences to draw from in our struggle for equivalence and liberation in society. We do not have to have access to capitalist wealth and media influence to spread our messaging, as is necessary in capitalist nations (though we do have extremely popular LGBTQ+ celebrities and significant media representation for gay, trans, bisexual, and queer people on national television [...]

With all this being said, we must recognize that LGBTQ+ rights in Vietnam still remain an important issue, and much more progress needs to be made. Fortunately, LGBTQ+ community members have been fighting for our rights publicly, with much more activity ramping up over the last decade. And although we have a long way to go, we still have made achievements which should be recognized, especially in terms of social awareness of LGBTQ+ community, increasing acceptance, and relatively low violence towards LGBTQ+ people compared to most other countries on Earth. In addition, the Ministry of Health has officially announced an intention to provide healthcare services for the LGBTQ+ community in its goals for 2021–2030. [...]

Ultimately, it’s true that our society has many problems when it comes to LGBTQ+ issues. It’s also true that the Vietnamese revolutionary government can and should do more, and more quickly, to address the needs and concerns of LGBTQ+ citizens. But, speaking as LGBTQ+ Vietnamese ourselves, we do not feel as if we need to be “rescued” by foreign-imperialist organizations like USAID, nor do we see how dismantling our revolutionary government would ''help'' our LGBTQ+ movement in any way.<ref name=":27">{{Web citation|author=NonLa Collective|newspaper=Medium|title=Debunking Meo Mun’s Lies About Vietnam|date=November 10, 2021|url=https://nonla.medium.com/debunking-meo-muns-lies-about-vietnam-ddcdccbdcaec|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220815041811/https://nonla.medium.com/debunking-meo-muns-lies-about-vietnam-ddcdccbdcaec|archive-date=2022-08-15|retrieved=2022-08-15}}</ref></blockquote>In a 2020 article by the Asahi Shimbun entitled, "Vietnam’s ‘first trans dad’ shows LGBT+ openness and challenges", the birth of a child to a transgender couple "highlighted Vietnam’s position as one of the most progressive countries on LGBT+ rights in Asia" and stated that "Vietnam has quietly become a trailblazer on LGBT+ rights in Asia in recent years, with laws to decriminalize gay marriage and allow same-sex couples to live together, although it stopped short of a full legal recognition of such unions."<ref name=":8">"Vietnam’s ‘first trans dad’ shows LGBT+ openness and challenges" Thomson Reuters Foundation. The Asahi Shimbun. July 3, 2020. URL: https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/13512489</ref>

Grete Lochen, Ambassador of Norway to Vietnam has been quoted as saying, “Vietnam has a youthful, diverse, and proud LGBTI+ community with increasing acceptance from society. Being a lesbian myself, I have personally experienced this advancement very clearly. The country can serve as an example of inclusiveness for other nations in the area, albeit considerable work remains.”<ref name=":12" />

In a 2014 article published by Thanh Nien News, it was stated that the law in Vietnam no longer specifically prohibits same-sex marriages, but says they aren't recognized by the government, saying that it does not allow same-sex partnership either, but noted that "the issue has been open for discussion during many house meetings." The article also mentions that a nationwide survey conducted by iSEE in 2013 found that 57 percent of people supported same sex couples to raise children together and 51 percent supported their rights to legally share assets.<ref>{{News citation|newspaper=Thanh Nien News|title=Vietnam allows surrogacy within families, denies same-sex marriage|date=June 20, 2014|url=http://www.thanhniennews.com/politics/vietnam-allows-surrogacy-within-families-denies-samesex-marriage-27502.html}}</ref>

A 2019 article states that "Quality health care services at the public Binh Dan Hospital in HCM City’s District 3 is now being offered to people in the LGBT community." Nguyen Tan Thu, a doctor specializing in serving LGBT people, said the service at a public hospital was especially important because patients had often complained about discriminatory attitudes at public hospital facilities. To meet the high demand of LGBT individuals, the hospital provides counselling about sexual and reproductive health for them and their relatives. The hospital also provides screening, prevention and treatment for HIV and sexually transmitted diseases, as well as general counselling. They are also provide counselling about hormone therapy before, during and after transition, and receive treatment for complications after transgender surgery. The article says that Binh Dan Hospital is one of several health facilities in the city providing health care services for LGBT people.<ref>{{News citation|newspaper=Vietnam Plus|title=HCM City: Quality health care services offered for LGBT community|date=January 15, 2019|url=https://en.vietnamplus.vn/hcm-city-quality-health-care-services-offered-for-lgbt-community/145157.vnp}}</ref>

==== Civil Social Organizations ====
Civil Social Organisations (CSO) have "closely been controlled by the single party government in Vietnam," according to a 2021 ILGA Asia report on Vietnam. The main reason is that the government is cautious of CSOs, especially those working on human rights, who may do harm to the Communist party and the government. In the past, CSO "was a very sensitive and contentious term in the government’s official documents." However, at the present time, the government is "more open to CSOs working on health and LGBTIQ matters," and the ILGA report quotes an ILGA member as saying that "Not all CSOs working on human rights will have to face tight control from the government… It depends…. If you are working on human rights related to the environment, land or freedom of speech issues, you will be tightly controlled by the government… If you are working on human rights of women or children, you will be given more space for operation.”<ref name=":14" />

==== Influence of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Catholicism ====
According to a 2021 ILGA Asia report, Vietnam is heavily influenced by the Confucian culture originating from China that "strongly supports heterosexual and traditional family models of straight men and women. That, in turn, has had significant influence on social perceptions and attitudes toward LGBTIQ people." Additionally, the report states that Buddhism and Catholicism are the major religions in Vietnam, and notes that "there has been no apparent evidence of stigma and discrimination towards the LGBTIQ community in the country from organized religious groups." Under the observation of the researcher, Buddhist philosophy in Vietnam has peaceful and tolerant approaches in embracing LGBTIQ people. Meanwhile, Catholics in Vietnam are believed to be more conservative about LGBTIQ people, although according to the report they "do not inflict harm on the LGBTIQ movement as a whole."<ref name=":14" />

==== Article 37 of the Civil Code ====
[[File:Many LGBT activists flock to the streets in Hanoi to applaud the new legislation. They raise flags and boards, some of which read “Cam on Quoc hoi” (Thank you, National Assembly). .jpg|thumb|371x371px|LGBT activists gather in Hanoi to applaud the National Assembly's approval of a bill for legal gender change legislation in 2015.]]In 2015, the Vietnamese National Assembly approved a bill to legalize sex reassignment surgery and to introduce the right to legal gender recognition for transgender people who have undergone such surgery.<ref>"Vietnam: Positive Step for Transgender Rights." Human Rights Watch. URL: https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/11/30/vietnam-positive-step-transgender-rights</ref> The National Assembly, having agreed in principle that this law should be made in 2015, have since given a mandate to the Ministry of Health to work out the specifics of that law, as well as how it should be implemented.<ref name=":9" />

Regarding the slow progress of the bill, the director of the ICS Center, a nationwide legal advocacy group, stated:<blockquote>“Though the transgender law is still debated within the transgender community, the main reason that hasn’t been passed is because there have been a lot of new laws proposed in the last two years,” says Linh. “At present, the transgender law is not the Health Ministry's priority. The draft bill has been proposed eight times from 2017 until now but it still hasn’t been prioritised, most likely because this law only affects a small minority of the population.”

Despite this challenge, there is a palpable sense of hope and anticipation within the local community that major progress could be made in the next few years. “I don’t think we’ll never be prioritised just because we're a minority,” says Linh. “It just means we need stronger visibility, to raise our voices and express our needs.” [...] “We hope to achieve same sex marriage, hopefully in the next 6 years,” says Linh. “I hope that the transgender law will be resolved sooner, since it’s achieved more progress than the same-sex marriage law.” <ref name=":9" /></blockquote>

==== Transgender community ====
According to a 2012 report on the transgender community in Vietnam by the Institute for Studies of Economy, Society, and Environment (ISEE), In Vietnam, the term “transgender” is relatively new, thus the usage of the term may be tricky. A number of Vietnamese terms are currently used to imply “transgender,” such as “người chuyển giới”,“người xuyên giới” or “người vượt giới.” On the other hand, the term “transsexual” is more or less unanimously understood as people who desire to have their bodies changed or have undergone surgeries for sex change. The report states that in practice, "people usually use the term “người chuyển giới”, which causes confusion in both understanding the actual meaning and the subject being referred to. This is because many transgender people do not completely “switch” to the opposite biological sex. Instead, they often have a sense of a vague gender identity, or may change between forms and genders, depending on specific time and circumstances. These individuals are commonly categorized into two groups, namely Male to Female Transgender (MtF) and Female to Male Transgender (FtM)." MTF transgender people in Ho Chi Minh City often call each other “bóng” (shadow), “bóng lộ” (open shadow). In Hanoi, they often use the word “Tigi” (Vietnamese pronunciation of the acronym TG for transgender). FTM transgender people often refer to others and themselves as “trans” and “trans guy”.<ref name=":13">{{News citation|author=Phạm Quỳnh Phương, Lê Quang Bình, Mai Thanh Tú|newspaper=Institute for Studies of the Economy, Society, and the Environment|title=Aspiration to be Myself: Transgender people in Vietnam: realities and legal aspects|date=2012|url=https://www.rosalux.de/fileadmin/images/Ausland/Suedostasien/Transgenders_report.pdf|Publishing location=Hanoi}}</ref>

The 2012 ISEE report states, "It is obvious that the transgender group is one of the most vulnerable and stigmatised in society" and provides several examples of challenges faced by transgender people both worldwide and within Vietnam, listing examples such as prejudiced and inaccurate messages in media, violence, rape, robbery, bullying at school and lack of support from family, and difficulties in finding employment. The report also notes that transgender people in Vietnam "face prejudices also from the gay and lesbian community, who think that transgender people are the reason for social stigmas against the LGBT community as a whole."<ref name=":13" />

Providing examples of problems faced by the transgender community of Vietnam, a 2020 Asashi Shimbun article quotes Mai Như Thiên Ân, a transgender man and founder of the Female-to-Male (FTM) Vietnam Organization:<blockquote>“When trans people go for a checkup at the hospital, they would be denied because their gender on paper doesn’t match their appearance," [...] The biggest problem is health care. Trans people still buy and inject hormones on their own and go to ‘underground’ places for (reassignment) surgery,” said An, 26, who since 2015 has run a Facebook transgender support group with over 5,500 members.<ref name=":8" /></blockquote>

==== Media ====

The director of the ICS center, a legal advocacy group, spoke on LGBT representation in media:<blockquote>“In the past 2-3 years, there has been a lot of LGBTQ representation,” says Linh. “Talk shows and reality shows create a lot of positive influence, although most of them are not perfect, and there are still stereotypes and bias. But it does bring different stories to the general public. That is something we appreciate about the media. And we will need all this visibility and much more in order to pass the transgender law in Vietnam.”<ref name=":9" /></blockquote>The article notes that though stigma and harmful stereotypes certainly remain in pop culture, LGBTQI+ representation seems to be steadily increasing and improving in Vietnam. Citing examples, the article says that in the Spring of 2019, popular TV game show Người Ấy Là Ai featured a young gay male contestant who shared his story on national television. His parents later joined him onstage and talked about how they had come to love, accept, and celebrate their son for who he is, and former Vietnam Idol singer and transgender pop icon, Huong Giang, is also a regular judge on this show, which has subsequently featured a handful of other LGBTQI+ contestants.<ref name=":9" />

In contrast to these recent increases of positive representation in media, a 2012 study on challenges faced by the transgender community in Vietnam, by ISEE, describes the state of LGBT representation in media back in 2012: "Prejudiced and inaccurate messages in the media and telecommunication channels have created and enforced misleading perceptions and social stigmas. Transgender people are described as 'homosexual', 'ridiculous' or 'sick'. They are not even regarded as a community" and adds that "the media often mistakenly regards transgenderism and homosexuality as the same, which causes the homosexual community to distance itself from the transgender community."<ref name=":13" />

As of mid-2022, the Vietnamese LGBT+ YouTube Channel "Come Out - LGBT Việt Nam" had 328.6K subscribers and features interviews of LGBT individuals in Vietnam.

In 2015, a biographical documentary film called ''Finding Phong'' (Vietnamese: ''Đi Tìm Phong'') was released, following the journey of a Vietnamese trans person seeking to transition and receive sexual reassignment surgery. According to VN Express, it was the first independent Vietnamese documentary to be screened in the country's top cinema chains, and Vietnamese film authorities gave it a rating of "suitable for all ages."<ref>{{News citation|author=Dat Nguyen, Bao Ngoc|newspaper=VN Express International|title=Finding Phong finds a paying audience in Vietnam|date=2018-10-31|url=https://e.vnexpress.net/news/travel-life/finding-phong-finds-a-paying-audience-in-vietnam-3831289.html|quote=The applause was not for a sold-out Hollywood blockbuster, a Vietnamese action movie or a tear-jerking romance. This time, the audience was cheering for Finding Phong, the first independent Vietnamese documentary to be screened in the country's top cinema chains.}}</ref>

According to an article titled, "Founding A Community For Transgender Men in Vietnam" from Trans World View, there was "practically no visibility" for transgender men in Vietnam in 2009. However, in that year, "a young transgender man named Nguyễn Thiện Trí Phong, who goes by Aki, began sharing his experience of being transgender through newspapers, television, and other media." This increased visibility helped the community of transgender men in Vietnam become more visible and grow. According to Mai Như Thiên Ân, the founder of FTM Vietnam, "[Before him], if transgender men took hormones, they went ‘stealth’ and tried to live like cisgender men. Young transgender men who were not taking hormones were afraid and said they were lesbians. Aki’s visibility helped create a safe zone." According to the article, the website LesKing also gradually began expanding to include transgender men. In 2011, it featured an article that helped its readers understand the differences between identifying as “SB,” a tom/tomboy (another identity for a masculine woman), and a transgender man. The article states: "it was an “aha” moment for hundreds, if not thousands, of transgender men like Ân who finally felt they had a way to explain their identity."<ref>''Founding A Community For Transgender Men in Vietnam: Interview with Mai Như Thiên Ân, the Founder of FTM Vietnam''. August 20, 2019. URL: https://transworldview.com/ftm-vietnam-founding-a-community-for-transgender-men-in-vietnam/</ref>

== LGBT rights in former AES countries ==

=== Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) ===
After the [[Russian revolution of 1917|October Revolution]], [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic (1917–1991)|Russia]] repealed old [[Russian Empire (1721–1917)|tsarist]] laws against homosexuality.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Olga Khoroshilova|newspaper=BBC|title=1917 Russian Revolution: The gay community's brief window of freedom|date=2017-11-09|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41737330|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250428130519/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41737330|archive-date=2025-04-28|retrieved=2025-05-16|quote=After the October Revolution in 1917, the Bolsheviks scrapped and rewrote the country's laws. They produced two Criminal Codes - in 1922 and 1926 - and an article prohibiting gay sex was left off both.}}</ref> The 1922 and 1926 criminal codes of the RSFSR did not mention homosexuality, but some other republics ([[Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (1936–1991)|Azerbaijan]], [[Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic (1921–1991)|Georgia]], [[Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic (1925–1991)|Turkmenistan]], and [[Uzbek Soviet Socialist Republic (1924–1991)|Uzbekistan]]) did ban homosexual relationships.<ref>{{Citation|author=Dan Healey|year=2017|title=Masculine Purity and “Gentlemen's Mischief”: Sexual Exchange and Prostitution between Russian Men, 1861-1941|title-url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/slavic-review/article/abs/masculine-purity-and-gentlemens-mischief-sexual-exchange-and-prostitution-between-russian-men-18611941/30CD22517A4CEBE83F7D12C5EF9D910F|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.2307/2697270}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|author=Dan Healey|year=2002|title=Homosexual Existence and Existing Socialism: New Light on the Repression of Male Homosexuality in Stalin's Russia|title-url=https://read.dukeupress.edu/glq/article-abstract/8/3/349/65019/HOMOSEXUAL-EXISTENCE-AND-EXISTING-SOCIALISMNew|publisher=Duke University Press|doi=10.1215/10642684-8-3-349}}</ref> In the 1930s, Soviet policy towards LGBT people regressed for a combination of reasons identified by [[Leslie Feinberg]]. During the second five-year plan, which ran from 1932 to 1937, more women than ever entered the workplace. Likely as a result of this, birth rates dropped from 43.36 live births per thousand people in 1930 to 29.78 in 1935, with a partial recovery by 1940 that was then erased by the [[Second World War]].<ref>{{Web citation|author=Aaron O'Neill|newspaper=Statista|title=Crude birth rate of Russia 1840-2020|date=2024-08-09|url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/1038013/crude-birth-rate-russia-1840-2020/|retrieved=2025-07-31}}</ref> Additionally, peasants with more conservative views began to flow in to the cities from the [[Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic (1919–1991)|Ukrainian SSR]] to avoid the [[Soviet famine of 1931–1933|famine]].<ref>{{Citation|author=Leslie Feinberg|year=2004-2008|title=Lavender & Red|title-url=https://en.prolewiki.org/wiki/Library:Lavender_%26_Red|pdf=https://www.workers.org/books2016/Lavender_and_Red.pdf|publisher=Workers World}}</ref> Like most countries at the time, the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|USSR]] considered homosexuality to be a mental disorder but usually used therapeutic or medical treatment instead of legal punishments against gay people. Article 121 of the criminal code prosecuted about 1,000 men each year and was almost only enforced in cases of pedophilia.<ref name=":35">{{Web citation|author=[[Alfonso Casal]]|newspaper=[[The Red Phoenix]]|title=On homosexuality in the USSR|date=2023-05-08|url=https://redphoenixnews.com/2023/05/08/on-homosexuality-in-the-ussr/}}</ref>

=== Mongolian People’s Republic ===
In 1961, under the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, consensual same-sex sexual acts were decriminalized. This position remained through the new Criminal Code (2002).<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=ILGA Database|title=Mongolia|date=2025-06-09|url=https://database.ilga.org/mongolia-lgbti|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241224083218/https://database.ilga.org/mongolia-lgbti|archive-date=2024-12-24|retrieved=2025-06-09|quote=In 1961, under the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, consensual same-sex sexual acts were decriminalised. This position remained through the new Criminal Code (2002).}}</ref>

=== People's Socialist Republic of Albania ===
During the communist era of Albania, Article 137 of the 1952 Penal Code, as amended in 1958, preserved the criminalization of sexual intercourse between men that was brought upon by the leadership of Ahmet Zog, though same-sex conduct between females wasn't criminalized as the article only targeted gay men.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Kristina Millona|newspaper=Kosovo 2.0|title=Albania’s communist regime targeted gay men|date=2024-08-10|url=https://kosovotwopointzero.com/en/albanias-communist-regime-targeted-gay-men/|archive-url=https://archive.is/bsYb9|archive-date=2025-06-09|retrieved=2025-06-09|quote=During communism, Article 137 of the 1952 Penal Code, as amended in 1958, preserved the criminalization of sexual intercourse between men.}}</ref> Albania legalized homosexuality on paper in 1977, but at the same time prosecuted it through other legal means until the 1990s.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Cäcilia Wosnitzka|newspaper=Copernico|title=A gay 'information office for the Eastern Bloc'?|date=2024-09-18|url=https://www.copernico.eu/en/articles/gay-information-office-eastern-bloc-transnational-activism-and-creation-queer-knowledge-during-cold-war|archive-url=https://archive.is/3Ykn|archive-date=2025-06-09|retrieved=2025-06-09|quote=Albania legalized homosexuality on paper in 1977, but at the same time prosecuted it through other legal means until the 1990s}}</ref>

=== People's Republic of Bulgaria ===
Bulgaria's first Criminal Code (1896) criminalized sodomy. In 1951, penalties were aggravated to up to three years of imprisonment with the enactment of the new Criminal Code (1951). Though, finally in 1968, Article 420 of the new Criminal Code (1968) repealed the previous Criminal Code and did not incorporate new sodomy provisions, thereby decriminalizing consensual same-sex sexual acts.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=ILGA Database|title=Bulgaria|url=https://database.ilga.org/bulgaria-lgbti|archive-url=https://archive.is/2o95v|archive-date=2025-06-09|retrieved=2025-06-09|quote=Finally, in 1968, Article 420 of the new Criminal Code (1968) repealed the previous Criminal Code and did not incorporate new sodomy provisions, thereby decriminalising consensual same-sex sexual acts.}}</ref>

=== Czechoslovakia ===
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Czechoslovakia in 1961,<ref>{{Web citation|author=Libor Kukal|newspaper=Radio Prague International|title=Why did Czechoslovakia decriminalise homosexuality relatively early?|date=2023-06-22|url=https://english.radio.cz/why-did-czechoslovakia-decriminalise-homosexuality-relatively-early-8786664|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240414193411/https://english.radio.cz/why-did-czechoslovakia-decriminalise-homosexuality-relatively-early-8786664|archive-date=2024-04-14|retrieved=2025-06-09|quote=Czechoslovakia decriminalised homosexuality in 1961}}</ref> and went into effect on January 1st, 1962.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Equaldex|title=1960s in LGBT Rights|url=https://www.equaldex.com/timeline/1960s|archive-url=https://archive.is/PPG0Z|archive-date=2025-06-09|retrieved=2025-06-09|quote=In 1962, provisions against homosexuality were removed from the penal code and homosexuality was decriminalised.}}</ref>

=== German Democratic Republic ===
The [[German Democratic Republic (1949–1990)|German Democratic Republic]] (GDR) is widely regarded, even by some liberal anti-communist news outlets<ref>{{Web citation|author=Samuel Huneke|newspaper=The Washington Post|title=Communist states have sometimes been havens for LGBTQ rights|date=2022-02-22|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/22/communist-states-have-sometimes-been-havens-lgbtq-rights/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819143809/https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/03/22/communist-states-have-sometimes-been-havens-lgbtq-rights/|archive-date=2022-08-19|retrieved=2025-05-16}}</ref><ref>{{Web citation|author=Samuel Clowes Huneke|newspaper=Boston Review|title=Gay Liberation Behind the Iron Curtain|date=2019-04-18|url=https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/gay-liberation-behind-iron-curtain/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250415104606/https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/gay-liberation-behind-iron-curtain/|archive-date=2025-04-15|retrieved=2025-05-16}}</ref> as the most progressive 20th century socialist state where the subject of LGBT rights was concerned.

The GDR officially decriminalized homosexuality in 1968, although gay people had already been exempt from legal prosecution since the 1950s.<ref name=":34">{{Web citation|author=Victor Grossman|newspaper=[[Monthly Review]]|title=My seventy years and the departed GDR|date=2022-08-24|url=https://mronline.org/2022/08/24/my-seventy-years-and-the-departed-gdr/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220825143732/https://mronline.org/2022/08/24/my-seventy-years-and-the-departed-gdr/|archive-date=2022-08-25|retrieved=2022-08-26}}</ref> The judge presiding over the decriminalization by law stated:<ref>{{Citation|author=Raelynn J. Hillhouse|year=1990|title=Out of the Closet behind the Wall: Sexual Politics and Social Change in the GDR|title-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/2500548|page=588|publisher=Cambridge University Press|doi=10.2307/2500548}}</ref>

<blockquote> “Homosexual persons are thus not excluded from the socialist society and civil rights are guaranteed to them as to all other citizens. Their discrimination and moral devaluation is to be rejected accordingly and they are to be protected from all attacks on their integrity (e.g., through defamation, bodily injury, hooliganism) through civil as well as criminal proceedings.” </blockquote>

By 1987, the GDR guaranteed equal rights for LGBT citizens.<ref name=":35" /> The state allowed for transgender people to adopt children and sponsored sex-reassignment surgery for people in adulthood. Notably, after the GDR's illegal annexation by West Germany in 1990, international queer publications suggested that trans rights might be set back by decades.<ref>Sullivan, Louis. Will German Reunification Hurt Transsexual Rights?, FTM Newsletter, June 1990.</ref>

=== Hungarian People's Republic ===
Homosexuality was decriminalized in Hungary in 1961, but until 1978 the age of consent for homosexual sex was 20 as opposed to 14 for heterosexual sex.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Linda Rapp|newspaper=GLBTQ Archive|title=Hungary|url=http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/hungary_S.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250605032429/http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/hungary_S.pdf|archive-date=2025-06-05|retrieved=2025-06-09|quote=Homosexuality was decriminalized in Hungary in 1961, but until 1978 the age of consent for homosexual sex was 20 as opposed to 14 for heterosexual sex.}}</ref>

=== Polish People's Republic ===
In 1948, the [[Polish People's Republic (1947–1989)|Polish People's Republic]] made 15 the age of consent for all sexual acts, whether homosexual or heterosexual.<ref>{{Web citation|author=John D. Stanley|newspaper=GLBTQ Archive|title=Poland|url=http://www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/poland_S.pdf|archive-url=https://megalodon.jp/2025-0801-2333-54/www.glbtqarchive.com/ssh/poland_S.pdf|archive-date=2025-08-01|retrieved=2025-08-01|quote=In 1948, the Communist regime made age 15 the age of consent for all sexual acts, homosexual or heterosexual.}}</ref>

=== Socialist Republic of Romania ===
Under [[Nicolae Ceaușescu]], Article 200 was introduced as a section of the Penal Code of Romania that criminalized homosexual relationships.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Human Rights Watch|newspaper=Refworld|title=Public Scandals: Sexual Orientation and Criminal Law in Romania|date=1998-01-01|url=https://www.refworld.org/reference/countryrep/hrw/1998/en/40605|archive-url=https://megalodon.jp/2025-0906-0856-49/https://www.refworld.org:443/reference/countryrep/hrw/1998/en/40605|archive-date=2025-09-05|retrieved=2025-09-05|quote=Most significantly, Article 200, paragraph 1, of the 1968 Romanian criminal code stated: "Sexual relations between persons of the same sex are punishable by imprisonment of one to five years."}}</ref>

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:Social issues]]
[[Category:LGBT+]]
[[Category:Pages to be protected]]

Central Intelligence Agency

2025-09-05T19:44:13Z

185.187.243.143:

{{Infobox company|name=Central Intelligence Agency|image=CIA logo.png|caption=Logo|founding_date={{birth date and age|1947|9|18}}
| website = [https://www.cia.gov www.cia.gov]
}}

The '''Central Intelligence Agency''' ('''CIA''') is an [[Imperialism|imperialist]] [[Terrorism|terrorist]] organization serving as the secret police of the [[United States imperialism|U.S. empire]]. It is one of the principal members of the [[United States Intelligence Community]] (IC). It has a long history of criminal behaviour, fabricating [[propaganda]], funding and supporting [[Anti-communism|anti-communist]] movements and "NGOs", and directly and indirectly participating in [[human rights]] abuses. Unlike the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] (FBI), which is a domestic security service, the CIA has no law enforcement function and is officially mainly focused on overseas intelligence gathering. According to one of its own case officers, [[John Stockwell]], the CIA was responsible for at least six million deaths in its first forty years of existence.<ref>{{Citation|author=John Stockwell|year=1987|title=The Secret Wars of the CIA|publisher=Information Clearing House|title-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160630173556/http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article4068.htm}}</ref>

== History ==
The CIA was created in 1947 when President [[Harry S. Truman|Truman]] signed the National Security Act into law. Its major predecessor was the [[Office of Strategic Services]] (OSS), which was the intelligence agency of the United States during the [[Second World War]]. The success of the British Commandos during World War II prompted U.S. President [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] to authorize the creation of an intelligence service modeled after the [[British Secret Intelligence Service]] (MI6), which led led to the creation of the OSS. The OSS was dissolved in 1945 and its functions were split mainly among the U.S. Department of State and Department of War. After 1945, intelligence functions were carried out by the National Intelligence Authority (NIA), the Central Intelligence Group (CIG), Bureau of Intelligence and Research (INR), and others, until the CIA was eventually created in 1947.

Between 1949 and 1952, the number of overseas CIA outposts grew from seven to 52, and its budget increased from $4.7 million to $82 million. The number of covert operations grew by 16 times from 1951 to 1953. In 1958, the CIA trained over 500,000 [[police]] officers in 25 countries.<ref name=":022222">{{Citation|author=David Vine|year=2020|title=The United States of War|chapter=Normalizing Occupation|page=310–1|city=Oakland|publisher=University of California Press|isbn=9780520972070|lg=http://library.lol/main/191568BFAC73F009132DB00ECD0F0F05}}</ref> In November 1959, the CIA created a dedicated [[Africa]] division.<ref name=":1">Meyer, Lily. 2021. [https://www.npr.org/2021/08/12/1027183677/cia-role-in-africa-expanded-as-u-s-cold-war-worries-grew-white-malice-details “CIA Role in Africa Expanded as U.S. Cold War Worries Grew, ‘White Malice’ Details.”] NPR.org. August 12, 2021. [https://web.archive.org/web/2/https://www.npr.org/2021/08/12/1027183677/cia-role-in-africa-expanded-as-u-s-cold-war-worries-grew-white-malice-details Archived] 2022-09-05.</ref>

[[Allen Dulles]], a nazi, was the first civilian CIA Director and the longest-serving CIA Director, serving from 1953 to 1961. As head of the CIA during the early [[Cold War]], he oversaw the [[1953 Iranian coup d'état]], the [[1954 Guatemalan coup d'état]], the [[Lockheed U-2 aircraft program]], the [[Project MKUltra]] mind control program and the [[Bay of Pigs Invasion]]. His older brother, [[John Foster Dulles]], was the [[United States Secretary of State|Secretary of State]] during the [[Dwight D. Eisenhower|Eisenhower]] Administration.

[[George H.W. Bush]], who served as the 11th Director of Central Intelligence from 1976 to 1977, would later go on to become Vice President under [[Ronald Reagan]] from 1981 to 1989, and 41st President of the United States from 1989 to 1993.

In the 1989 book "Rollback!" authors Thomas Bodenheimer and Robert Gould explain how in the 1980s, proponents of the imperialist [[rollback]] policy, which sought to "roll back" communism worldwide and prevent revolutions in the [[Third World]] (now more commonly conceptualized as the [[Global North and South|Global South]], with a somewhat different definition), sought to create increased plausible deniability for the CIA by creating an apparatus for bypassing presidential approval and congressional notification for the CIA's actions: <blockquote>For decades the CIA has conducted covert operations that could be “plausibly denied” by the presidency. But legislation in 1974 and 1980 requiring formal presidential approval and congressional notification of covert operations made such deniability difficult. Thus under Reagan, an apparatus was established whose actions could be plausibly denied not only by the president but by the CIA as well. To staff this apparatus, right-wing ideologues inside government-led by CIA Director William Casey and National Security Council staff member [[Oliver North]]-came together with their rollback-oriented companions outside government, most prominently retired Gen. Richard Secord. This rightwing apparatus derived enormous power from its access through Oliver North to National Security Advisor Adm. John Poindexter. As one of the top foreign policy officials, Poindexter--especially with a president widely considered to be incompetent—had the power to place enormous resources of the United States government at the service of the global rollback network.<ref name=":2">Bodenheimer, Thomas; Gould, Robert. [https://archive.org/details/rollbackrightwin00bode/mode/1up "Rollback! : Right-wing Power in American Foreign Policy."] 1989. South End Press, Boston, MA. </ref> </blockquote>The [[Iran–Contra affair]] occurred during the second term of the Reagan administration. The president had declared Iran to be an enemy and terrorist state, but in secret he was selling Iran major shipments of weapons. Between 1981 and 1986, senior administration officials secretly facilitated the sale of arms to Iran, which was the subject of an arms embargo. The administration hoped to use the proceeds of the arms sale to fund the Contras, a right-wing rebel group, in Nicaragua. According to Bodenheimer and Gould, "The secret apparatus itself was nothing new [...] CIA covert operations involving private individuals and companies were part of the conservative elites' tradition. What stood out about Contragate was the loss of control by the conservative elite. [...] The Contragate exposé was the backlash of the conservative elite, who viewed the Right as overly reckless and assuming far too much power." The authors explain that Ronald Reagan and his rollback henchmen drew criticism from Congress and the entire nation, the scope of the investigation remained extremely limited, with the leadership of the House and Senate committees specifically avoiding delving into the history of the CIA-linked proprietaries and public-private networks, "Thus the CIA's capabilities for covert and illegal interventionist operations remained protected for the future, while the 'rogues' of the Right were conveniently and temporarily scapegoated."<ref name=":2" />

In 1982, the Intelligence Identities Protection Act was signed into law by President Reagan, establishing criminal penalties for any person who discloses information which identifies a U.S. covert intelligence agent. Prior to the passage of the act, [[CovertAction Magazine|CovertAction Information Bulletin]] (now CovertAction Magazine) used to publish a "Naming Names" column which would identify names and locations of covert agents and their stations.<ref>"Naming Names." CovertAction Information Bulletin, No. 14-15. October 1981. [https://www.invissin.ru/upload/CAQ/14-15,%20Oct%201981.pdf PDF]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230316023252/https://www.invissin.ru/upload/CAQ/14-15,%20Oct%201981.pdf Archive].</ref>

In modern times, the CIA has undertaken efforts to try to rebrand itself as being "liberal" and "woke" in a disingenuous effort to appeal to the liberal sensitivities of the American upper-middle class population.<ref>{{News citation|title=The CIA and the New Dialect of Power|url=https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2021/11/the-cia-and-the-new-dialect-of-power/|newspaper=American Affairs Journal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211215131731/https://americanaffairsjournal.org/2021/11/the-cia-and-the-new-dialect-of-power/}}</ref> [[Moderate Rebels]] has produced a [[Library:Parody of Woke CIA Recruitment Ad|parody CIA recruitment ad]] ridiculing this trend.

In honor of the 60th anniversary of the [[Korean War|Korean war]], the CIA released several formerly classified documents regarding the war in a collection titled "Baptism by Fire" in 2013. Among the released documents, author [[Jeffrey Kaye]] asserted that the "handprint of [[Unit 731]]" was "all over" various documents which made reference to the long-alleged biological warfare conducted by U.S. forces against north Koreans.<ref>Xu Chi. [http://www.news.cn/english/northamerica/2021-09/18/c_1310196215.htm “Interview: CIA Confidential Files Expose Use of Unit 731-Inspired U.S. Bioweapons in Korean War -- U.S. Author.”] 2021-09-18. News.cn. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220905125247/http://www.news.cn/english/northamerica/2021-09/18/c_1310196215.htm Archived] 2022-09-05.</ref><ref>Jeffrey Kaye. [https://jeff-kaye.medium.com/a-real-flood-of-bacteria-and-germs-communications-intelligence-and-charges-of-u-s-4decafdc762 "“A real flood of bacteria and germs” — Communications Intelligence and Charges of U.S. Germ Warfare during the Korean War."] 2020-09-17. Medium.</ref>

In 2019, former CIA director and Secretary of State [[Mike Pompeo]] stated to an audience from [[Texas A&M University]] that the CIA trains employees to lie, cheat and steal, saying: "When I was a cadet--what's the cadet motto at [[West Point]]? 'You will not lie, cheat, or steal, or tolerate those who do.' I was the CIA director. We lied, we cheated, we stole. We had entire training courses. It reminds you of the glory of the American experiment."<ref name=":5">[https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/We-Lied-Cheated-and-Stole-Pompeo-Comes-Clean-About-CIA-20190424-0033.html “‘We Lied, Cheated and Stole’: Pompeo Comes Clean about CIA.”] Telesurenglish.net. teleSUR. 2019. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230316233629/https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/We-Lied-Cheated-and-Stole-Pompeo-Comes-Clean-About-CIA-20190424-0033.html Archived] 2023-03-16.</ref>

== Directors ==
The director of the Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA), formerly the Director of Central Intelligence (DCI), serves as one of the chief intelligence advisers to the president of the United States. Following a change in the early 2000s, the [[director of national intelligence]] (DNI) oversees and directs the implementation of the National Intelligence Program budget and serves as the head of the [[United States Intelligence Community|Intelligence Community]] and is principal advisor to the President for intelligence matters.<ref>[https://www.dni.gov/index.php/what-we-do “What We Do.”] Dni.gov. 2018.</ref>

This is a chronologically ordered list of CIA directors (both the old position called DCI and the new position called D/CIA), from the earliest to the most recent.<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/topic/list-of-Central-Intelligence-Agency-directors-1787118 “List of CIA Directors.”] Encyclopædia Britannica.</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+List of Directors of the Central Intelligence Agency and Directors of Central Intelligence
!Name
!Tenure
!Administration(s)
!Notes
|-
|Rear Adm. [[Sidney W. Souers]], U.S. Naval Reserve
|January 23, 1946–June 10, 1946
| rowspan="3" |[[Harry S. Truman]]
|
|-
|Lieut. Gen. [[Hoyt S. Vandenberg]], U.S. Army
|June 10, 1946–May 1, 1947
|
|-
|Rear Adm. [[Roscoe H. Hillenkoetter]], U.S. Navy
|May 1, 1947–October 7, 1950
|
|-
|Gen. [[Walter Bedell Smith]], U.S. Army
|October 7, 1950–February 9, 1953
| rowspan="2" |[[Dwight D. Eisenhower]]
|
|-
|[[Allen Dulles|Allen W. Dulles]]
|February 9, 1953 – February 26, 1953
|(Acting director)
|-
|Allen W. Dulles
|February 26, 1953–November 29, 1961
|[[John F. Kennedy]]
|
|-
|[[John A. McCone]]
|November 29, 1961–April 28, 1965
| rowspan="2" |[[Lyndon B. Johnson]]
|
|-
|Vice Adm. [[William F. Raborn]], Jr., U.S. Navy
|April 28, 1965–June 30, 1966
|
|-
|[[Richard M. Helms]]
|June 30, 1966–February 2, 1973
| rowspan="2" |[[Richard Nixon]]
|
|-
|[[James R. Schlesinger]]
|February 2, 1973–July 2, 1973
|
|-
|[[William E. Colby]]
|September 4, 1973–January 30, 1976
| rowspan="2" |[[Gerald Ford]]
|
|-
|[[George H. W. Bush|George H.W. Bush]]
|January 30, 1976–January 20, 1977
|<ref group="Notes">[[George H. W. Bush|George H.W. Bush]] later became U.S. Vice President (1981-1989), then President (1989-1993). His son is former President [[George W. Bush]] (2001-2009).</ref>
|-
|Adm. [[Stansfield Turner]], U.S. Navy
|March 9, 1977–January 20, 1981
|[[Jimmy Carter]]
|
|-
|[[William J. Casey]]
|January 28, 1981–January 29, 1987
| rowspan="2" |[[Ronald Reagan]]
|
|-
|[[Robert M. Gates]]
|December 18, 1986 – May 26, 1987
|(Acting director)
|-
|[[William H. Webster]]
|May 26, 1987–August 31, 1991
| rowspan="2" |George H.W. Bush
|
|-
|Robert M. Gates
|November 6, 1991–January 20, 1993
|
|-
|[[R. James Woolsey]]
|February 5, 1993–January 10, 1995
| rowspan="3" |[[Bill Clinton]]
|
|-
|[[John M. Deutch]]
|May 10, 1995–December 15, 1996
|
|-
|[[George J. Tenet]]
|December 16, 1996 – July 11, 1997
|(Acting director)
|-
|George J. Tenet
|July 11, 1997 – July 11, 2004
| rowspan="3" |[[George W. Bush]]
|
|-
|[[Porter J. Goss]]
|September 24, 2004–May 26, 2006
|<ref group="Notes">The position called Director of Central Intelligence (DCI) was replaced by director of Central Intelligence Agency (D/CIA), making [[Porter J. Goss|Porter Goss]] both the last DCI and first D/CIA. In addition, the position of the [[director of national intelligence]] (DNI) was strengthened in this period, placing the DNI as the executive head of the [[United States Intelligence Community|Intelligence Community]] (IC). Before the DNI was formally established, the head of the Intelligence Community was the director of central intelligence (DCI).</ref>
|-
|Gen. [[Michael V. Hayden]], U.S. Air Force
|May 30, 2006–February 13, 2009
|
|-
|[[Leon E. Panetta]]
|February 13, 2009–June 30, 2011
| rowspan="3" |[[Barack Obama]]
|
|-
|Gen. [[David Petraeus]], U.S. Army
|September 6, 2011–November 9, 2012
|
|-
|[[John Brennan]]
|March 8, 2013–January 20, 2017
|
|-
|[[Mike Pompeo]]
|January 23, 2017–April 26, 2018
| rowspan="2" |[[Donald Trump]]
|
|-
|[[Gina Haspel]]
|May 21, 2018–January 19, 2021
|
|-
|[[William J. Burns]]
|March 19, 2021–January 23, 2025
|[[Joe Biden]]
|
|-
|[[John Ratcliffe]]
|January 23, 2025<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Central Intelligence Agency|title=About CIA — Director of the CIA|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250617040002/https://www.cia.gov/about/director-of-cia/|archive-date=2025-06-17}}</ref>–Present
|[[Donald Trump]]
|Incumbent
|}
'''Notes:'''
<references group="Notes" />

== Operations by region ==

=== Africa ===
Although CIA officers had been present in Africa since the agency's inception, a dedicated Africa division was formed in 1959.<ref name=":1" /> As more and more African nations gained formal independence from European colonial powers following the Second World War, the United States and other Western powers grew concerned with how to maintain control over Africa's resources, as African resources and markets continued to be vital to Western economies.<ref name=":6">{{Citation|author=Ellen Ray, William Schaap, Karl Van Meter, Louis Wolf (Eds.)|year=1980|title=Dirty Work 2: The CIA in Africa|title-url=https://archive.org/details/CIAInAfrica/|chapter=OVERVIEW: Introduction (Philip Agee)|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/CIAInAfrica/page/n14/mode/1up?view=theater|city=London|publisher=Zed Press}}</ref> Western powers thus sought to influence the establishment of [[Neocolonialism|neo-colonial]] governments and institutions which would not pose a threat to their traditional colonial interests. Such interests included access to minerals<ref name=":6" /> (including [[nuclear]] material such as [[uranium]]),<ref name=":1" /> as well as the labor and infrastructure to [[Mining|mine]] them, and access to [[Petroleum politics|petroleum]] and [[natural gas]] resources. They also sought to ensure access to markets for food and manufactured products, opportunities for [[capital]] investments, and important sea routes through the [[Suez Canal]] and around the Cape, and to otherwise ensure optimal operating conditions for Western corporations.<ref name=":6" />

As observed by former CIA case officer [[Philip Agee]], in the 1960s, operations by the US government and US companies expanded both in support of and in competition with the former colonial powers.<ref name=":6" /> As a competitor, the US was interested in undermining European colonial influence to the extent that it could open up Europe's (former) colonies to US influence and commercial penetration.<ref>{{Citation|author=Ellen Ray, William Schaap, Karl Van Meter, Louis Wolf (Eds.)|year=1980|title=Dirty Work 2: The CIA in Africa|title-url=https://archive.org/details/CIAInAfrica/|chapter=The CIA and African Trade Unions (Barry Cohen)|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/CIAInAfrica/page/n84/mode/1up?view=theater|city=London|publisher=Zed Press}}</ref> However, though the US competed with its European allies for natural resources and markets, "the U.S. had set up military bases in Africa and joined the Europeans in opposing the nationalist and anti-colonial movements that were supported by socialist countries or whose nationalism and radicalism made them seem threatening, while supporting those which were moderate and pro-capitalist."<ref name=":6" /> During this period, the CIA participated in the overthrow of [[Anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist]] leaders [[Kwame Nkrumah]] in [[Republic of Ghana|Ghana]] and [[Patrice Lumumba]] in the [[Republic of the Congo (1960–1971)|Congo]].<ref>{{News citation|author=Djibo Sobukwe|newspaper=[[Black Agenda Report]]|title=NATO and Africa|date=2022-07-13|url=https://blackagendareport.com/nato-and-africa|retrieved=2022-07-15}}</ref>

==== Angola ====
In November 1975, the CIA and [[apartheid]] [[South Africa]] invaded [[People's Republic of Angola (1975–1992)|Angola]] when it became independent from [[Portuguese Republic|Portugal]]. [[Fidel Castro]] deployed 350,000 Cubans in Angola who fought until 1989 and defeated the white supremacist forces.<ref name=":3">{{Web citation|author=Abayome Azikiwe|newspaper=[[Workers World]]|title=CIA turned in Mandela in ’62, still undermines Africa|date=2016-05-25|url=https://www.workers.org/2016/05/25544/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211030649/https://www.workers.org/2016/05/25544/|archive-date=2022-02-11|retrieved=2022-10-09}}</ref>

==== Democratic Republic of the Congo ====
Patrice Lumumba was chosen prime minister of the independent [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] (then [[Republic of the Congo (Léopoldville)|Republic of the Congo]]) by the newly-elected parliament following independence from [[Kingdom of Belgium|Belgium]] in June 1960. Ideologically an [[African nationalism|African nationalist]] and [[Pan-Africanism|pan-Africanist]], he led the [[Congolese National Movement]] (MNC) party from 1958 until his assassination.

Lumumba was very popular, but too nationalist and seemingly left-leaning for the imperialists. Both [[Kingdom of Belgium|Belgium]] and the US were affected by the Cold War in their attitude to Lumumba, as they feared he was increasingly subject to communist influence. CIA Director Allen Dulles authorized a fund of up to $100,000 to replace Lumumba's government with a pro-Western regime. With CIA help, Lumumba was deposed, first by President [[Joseph Kasavubu]], and later by Army strongman (cultivated by the CIA) [[Mobutu Sese Seko]]. The CIA made a plan to assassinate Lumumba with poison carried from the United States by CIA operative [[Sidney Gottlieb|Sid Gottlieb]]. The poisoning plan was aborted, but Lumumba was caught and murdered.<ref name=":2" /> After Lumumba's murder, Mobutu Sese Seko ruled until 1996 as a CIA puppet.<ref name=":3" />

==== Ghana ====
''See also: [[Republic of Ghana#1966 coup d'etat]]''

On 24 February 1966, Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of Ghana, was overthrown in a CIA-supported coup. A 1966 U.S. government internal memorandum describes Nkrumah as "strongly pro-Communist" and says that "Nkrumah was doing more to undermine our interests than any other black African."<ref>Komer, Robert W. [https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v24/d260 "Memorandum From the President’s Acting Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Komer) to President Johnson."] Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXIV, Africa. Document #260. Office of the Historian. United States Department of State. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220518133259/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v24/d260 Archived] 2022-05-18.</ref> The memo was written by [[Robert W. Komer]], who later became the head of the [[Phoenix Program]] in [[Socialist Republic of Vietnam|Vietnam]].<ref>Charles Quist-Adade (2021-02-24). [https://covertactionmagazine.com/2021/02/24/how-did-a-fateful-cia-coup-executed-55-years-ago-this-february-24-doom-much-of-sub-saharan-africa/ "How Did a Fateful CIA Coup—Executed 55 Years Ago this February 24—Doom Much of Sub-Saharan Africa?"] ''[[CovertAction Magazine]]''. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220126041140/https://covertactionmagazine.com/2021/02/24/how-did-a-fateful-cia-coup-executed-55-years-ago-this-february-24-doom-much-of-sub-saharan-africa/ Archived] from the original on 2022-01-26.</ref> Prior to the coup, Western imperialist financial institutions such as the [[International Monetary Fund|IMF]] had been denying assistance to Nkrumah's government. Only weeks after the reactionary coup regime took power and began selling off state-owned enterprises that had been developed under a socialist model, the IMF invited the leaders of the coup regime to meetings about receiving aid.<ref name=":4">Nkrumah, Kwame. ''Dark Days in Ghana''. 1968.</ref>

1965 U.S. security council memorandums from several months before the coup, also written by Robert Komer, and not released until years later, show U.S officials discussing among themselves that pro-Western coup plotters in Ghana were keeping U.S. officials "briefed", and a U.S. security council staffer states that "we and other Western countries (including France) have been helping to set up the situation by ignoring Nkrumah's pleas for economic aid" hoping that this would "spark" the coup.<ref>Komer, Robert W. [https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v24/d253 "Memorandum From Robert W. Komer of the National Security Council Staff to the President’s Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Bundy)."] Washington, May 27, 1965. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964-1968. Volume XXIV, Africa. Document 253. Office of the Historian, United States Department of State. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230311105443/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v24/d253 Archived] 2023-03-11.</ref> Weeks after the coup, March 12 1966 U.S. internal documents discuss that the new, "almost pathetically pro-Western" regime should be given gifts of surplus grain to "whet their appetite" for further U.S. support.<ref>Komer, Robert W. [https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v24/d260 "Memorandum From the President’s Acting Special Assistant for National Security Affairs (Komer) to President Johnson."] Johnson Library, National Security File, Memos to the President. Foreign Relations of the United States, 1964–1968, Volume XXIV, Africa. Document #260. Office of the Historian. United States Department of State. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220518133259/https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1964-68v24/d260 Archived] 2022-05-18.</ref>

In his book about the coup, ''[[Library:Dark Days in Ghana|Dark Days in Ghana]]'', Nkrumah describes the above tactic as "standard practice" in the then-recent wave of coups in Asia, Latin America and Africa. He states that wherever progressive governments have been replaced by counter-revolutionary forces, imperialist financial organizations have rushed to bolster them up with loans and various forms of so-called "aid". He explains that this practice "is a necessary corollary to the 'big lie' usually employed to justify the overthrow of 'undesirable governments'—the lie of 'economic chaos' and a 'starving' population. But more important, it serves to tighten the stranglehold of foreign economic control over the captive people by creating more indebtedness and a deeper penetration by foreign business interests."<ref name=":4" />

Former CIA case officer John Stockwell wrote that the CIA station in Ghana played a "major role" in the overthrow of Nkrumah's government, and that "The Accra station was [...] encouraged by headquarters to maintain contact with dissidents of the Ghanian army for the purpose of gathering intelligence on their activities. It was given a generous budget, and maintained intimate contact with the plotters as a coup was hatched."<ref>Stockwell, John. ''In Search of Enemies: A CIA Story.'' 1978.</ref>

==== Libya ====
In 2011, [[Barack Obama]] sent hundreds of CIA operatives to [[Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (1977–2011)|Libya]] to organize airstrikes against [[Muammar Gaddafi]]'s socialist government.<ref name=":3" />

==== Niger ====
In 2018, a facility in Dirkou, [[Republic of the Niger|Niger]] was converted into a CIA [[drone]] base.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Mohammed Abunahel|newspaper=World BEYOND War|title=The United States Has Built a Network of Drone Bases Across Africa|date=2024-03-22|url=https://worldbeyondwar.org/the-united-states-has-built-a-network-of-drone-bases-across-africa/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322170935/https://worldbeyondwar.org/the-united-states-has-built-a-network-of-drone-bases-across-africa/|archive-date=2024-03-22}}</ref><ref>{{Web citation|author=Abigail Fielding-Smith|newspaper=The Bureau of Investigative Journalism|title=Deciphering the new CIA drone base in Niger|date=2018-09-11|url=https://www.thebureauinvestigates.com/stories/2018-09-11/deciphering-the-new-cia-drone-base-in-niger/}}</ref>

=== Asia ===
Following the surrender of [[Empire of Japan (1868–1947)|Japan]] in the Second World War, the U.S. sought to dominate [[East Asia]] and the [[Oceania|Pacific]]. A conflict over a policy of aggressive total rollback of communism vs. containment of communism was taking place among the U.S. ruling class, but regardless of tactics preferred by either end of the spectrum, the need to establish U.S. influence in Asia was a priority, whether it was with the long-term rollback goal encapsulated by containment policy (isolate communist countries so they eventually collapse on their own), or the aggressive immediate rollback policy that would entail surrounding China and the Soviet Union to invade and attack them.

The [[Pivot to Asia]] announced under the [[Barack Obama|Obama]] administration indicates Asia as the priority of U.S. foreign policy and geopolitical interest, with China's rise being considered unacceptable to U.S. hegemony. Carrying on with largely the same objectives of containment and rollback of communism from the original Cold War, this state of affairs is increasingly regarded as the [[New Cold War]].

==== East Asia ====
One of the first major conflicts in which the CIA was involved was the occupation of the [[Korea|Korean peninsula]] by U.S. forces, the establishment of a [[Republic of Korea|puppet government in the south]], and the subsequent [[Korean War]]. Relatedly, the CIA has had extensive involvement of shaping the course of Japanese politics ever since the end of World War II, with the CIA spending millions to support right-wing parties in Japan and to infiltrate the [[Japan Socialist Party]], and placing agents in youth groups, student groups and labor groups.<ref>Weiner, Tim. [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/09/world/cia-spent-millions-to-support-japanese-right-in-50-s-and-60-s.html “C.I.A. Spent Millions to Support Japanese Right in 50’S and 60’S."] The New York Times. Published 1994. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220922181753/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/09/world/cia-spent-millions-to-support-japanese-right-in-50-s-and-60-s.html Archived] 2022-09-22.</ref>

==== Southeast Asia ====
The [[Phoenix Program]] was designed and coordinated by the CIA during the [[Vietnam War]]. Regarding CIA and US imperialist activity in [[Southeast Asia]], Bodenheimer and Gould state, "Because of the interrelatedness of the 1958-70 events in Southeast Asia, and the resolve of the United States to keep control of all governments in that region, the rollback activities in Southeast Asia can be considered as one complex, prolonged, major covert operation working in conjunction with the overt Vietnam War."<ref name=":2" />

=== Europe ===
''See: [[Operation Gladio]], [[Operation Paperclip]]''

=== North America ===
The CIA's activities in [[North America]] have been heavily concentrated in [[Central America]] and the [[Caribbean]], although some victims of [[Project MKUltra|MKUltra]] and related projects which aimed to develop procedures and identify psychoactive drugs that could be used in interrogations to weaken individuals and force confessions through brainwashing and psychological torture were inflicted on U.S. and [[Canada|Canadian]] citizens.

==== Guatemala ====
In [[Republic of Guatemala|Guatemala]] in February 1953, the government of [[Jacobo Arbenz]] expropriated almost 400,000 acres of unused [[United Fruit Company]] land as part of a moderate land reform program. Compensation was offered, which United Fruit rejected. United Fruit approached the CIA to take action. The CIA trained a small army, and arranged for the CIA-run airline Civil Air Transport to conduct bombing raids. The main thrust of the operation was psychological warfare. A CIA radio station was set up to create rumors making the government and population think that a major rebellion was taking place. As a result, the small CIA army and a few bombing raids created a panic.<ref name=":2" /> General [[Ydigoras Fuentes]] took power in 1958. In 1960, the CIA crushed progressive elements of the Guatemalan military, and a guerrilla movement began in the countryside, led by former military officers who had attempted the uprising of 1960. Fuentes lost U.S. support when he allowed former progressive leader [[Juan José Arévalo]] to return to the country, and he planned to step down in 1964 and allow an election. In March 1963 the United States organized another coup, and Colonel [[Enrique Peralta Azurdia|Enrique Peralta]] overthrew Fuentes. However, the U.S. was not entirely satisfied with the policies of Peralta, either, and backed [[Julio Cesar Mendez Montenegro]] in the election held in March 1966.<ref>William Blum (2004). ''[https://williamblum.org/books/killing-hope Killing Hope]'': [https://williamblum.org/chapters/killing-hope/guatemala 'Guatemala, 1962 to 1980s: A less publicized “final solution”']. Common Courage Press. ISBN 9781567512526</ref>

==== Jamaica ====
In 1972, [[Democratic socialism|democratic socialist]] [[Michael Manley]] was elected prime minister of [[Jamaica]]. Henry Kissinger initiated measures to destabilize the government, including a withdrawal of U.S. aid and the sending of CIA-trained Cuban exiles to Jamaica to instigate violent incidents which had a devastating effect on the tourist business, critical to the Jamaican economy. CIA-trained labor leaders also engaged in anti-government strikes. In addition to the CIA activities, U.S. aluminum companies reduced their Jamaican production, further damaging the economy. The United States closed Jamaica out of the international public and private lending market. Economic austerity measures initiated by the U.S.-dominated International Monetary Fund led to price increases and wage freezes.<ref name=":2" /><ref>cganemccalla. [https://newsone.com/543415/how-the-cia-created-the-jamaican-shower-posse/ “How the CIA Created the Jamaican Shower Posse.”] NewsOne. June 3, 2010. [https://web.archive.org/web/20221002052114/https://newsone.com/543415/how-the-cia-created-the-jamaican-shower-posse/ Archived] 2022-10-02.</ref><ref>Saul Landau. [https://www.tni.org/es/node/7503 “Behind the Violence in Jamaica.”] Transnational Institute. July 18, 2005. Originally Published on ZNet, 26 July 2001. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220529191052/https://www.tni.org/es/node/7503 Archived] 2022-05-29.

‌</ref> This pattern of economic destabilization coupled with electoral rollback by any means possible is a typical one seen with U.S imperialism.

=== South America ===
The CIA has been involved in numerous coups, color revolutions, destabilization efforts, and right-wing death squads and regimes in [[South America]], and throughout [[Latin America]] in general. During [[Operation Condor]], a terrorist campaign conducted in multiple South American countries throughout the 1970s and 1980s, "the CIA and top-ranking US officials supported, laid the groundwork for, and were even directly involved in Condor’s crimes."<ref>[https://jacobin.com/2020/11/operation-condor-cia-latin-america-repression-torture “The CIA’s Secret Global War against the Left.”] Jacobin.com.</ref><ref name=":5" />

The United States provided support to many military juntas that came to power in Latin America (both in Central and South America), training them on harsh counterinsurgency techniques at the United States Army [[School of the Americas]] (Spanish: ''Escuela de las Américas'') located in Fort Benning in Columbus, [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], USA. The school was renamed the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) in the early 2000s.<ref>[https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/No-Prisoners-Only-Bodies-US-Declassified-Documents-Expose-Argentine-Dictatorship-Crimes-20190414-0013.html “‘No Prisoners, Only Bodies’: US Declassified Documents Expose Argentine Dictatorship Crimes.”] Telesurenglish.net. teleSUR. 2019. [https://web.archive.org/web/20230401103046/https://www.telesurenglish.net/news/No-Prisoners-Only-Bodies-US-Declassified-Documents-Expose-Argentine-Dictatorship-Crimes-20190414-0013.html Archived] 2023-04-01.</ref><ref>[https://www.rt.com/usa/361286-school-americas-names-court/ “Court Overrules Disclosure of US ‘School of Assassins’ Graduates Names.”] RT International. October 2016. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220307114317/https://www.rt.com/usa/361286-school-americas-names-court/ Archived] 2022-03-07.</ref>

==== Argentina ====
''See: [[Argentine Republic#Operation Condor]]''

==== Chile ====
On September 4, 1970, socialist candidate [[Salvador Allende]] received the plurality of votes in the [[Republic of Chile|Chilean]] election. A congressional runoff election was required to decide between the top two candidates, and Allende's victory in Congress was assured because he had the support of the third-place candidate. On September 8, [[Henry Kissinger]] ordered a "cold blooded assessment" of "the pros and cons and problems and prospects involved should a Chilean military coup be organized now with U.S. assistance...." On September 15, President [[Richard Nixon|Nixon]] told CIA Director Richard Helms and Henry Kissinger that they must do everything possible to prevent Allende from assuming power.

As a result of the Nixon order, CIA operatives were sent into Chile to pass money and weapons to right-wing Chilean military officers to assassinate Allende. A quarter of a million dollars was authorized to bribe members of the Chilean Congress to vote against Allende. The CIA and U.S. Army attaché Col. Paul Wimert contacted two groups of right-wing Chilean officers, headed by Gens. Roberto Viaux and Camilo Valenzuela, to arrange a coup or assassination. On October 22, Gen. René Schneider was murdered by Viaux's people in the hopes that the resultant upheavals in the military would precipitate action against Allende; Schneider was a moderate and opposed any military action against Allende. However the Schneider killing angered Chilean moderates, thus ensuring Allende's election in the October 24 congressional vote.

Following this failure, the United States began a policy of economic destabilization, using organizations such as [[The World Bank]] to shut Chile out of international credit markets. While U.S. economic aid disappeared, aid to the military and U.S. training of military personnel increased. CIA covert tactics continued at the cost of several million dollars per year. The CIA financed long strikes, particularly in the trucking industry, disrupting distribution of consumer goods and creating shortages of necessities. The CIA trained members of the extreme rightist organization [[Patria y Libertad]] in bombing and guerrilla warfare. The CIA recruited agents within the Chilean military. The CIA sponsored the spreading of false rumors about the government. Right-wing newspaper [[El Mercurio|''El Mercurio'']] received considerable CIA funds. The CIA collected names of pro-Allende individuals to be targeted for arrest after a coup and supplied plans for which installations should be occupied during a coup. During the September 1973 coup, U.S. military attachés were in the field with the Chilean army, a Navy commando team landed in Chile, U.S. ships were in Chilean waters, and U.S. fighter planes were at an Argentine base just across the Chilean border. Following the coup which installed Gen. [[Augusto Pinochet]]'s military dictatorship, Richard Helms, CIA Director during the Chilean operation, denied in sworn testimony that the CIA had tried to overthrow Allende. Helms was later indicted for perjury and pleaded no contest.<ref name=":2" />

=== Oceania ===
The CIA was involved in the Whitlam dismissal.<ref>{{Web citation|author=John Pilger|newspaper=Independent Australia|title=U.S. dominance and Australia’s secret coup|date=2014-03-21|url=https://independentaustralia.net/politics/politics-display/us-dominance-and-australias-secret-coup,6300|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/VjQCC|archive-date=2025-09-05|retrieved=2025-09-05}}</ref>

== Functions of the CIA ==
Philip Agee has described the range which covert activities may include, writing that these "may range from a simple poison-pen letter (which may be true or falsified), to supporting or splitting political parties, to establishing and manipulating trade unions, to fielding armies on a battlefield. They also include undermining public support for governments, overthrowing governments, and political assassinations" and that targets include "governments, political parties, military and security services, trade unions, youth and student organizations, cultural and professional societies, and the public-information media."<ref>{{Citation|author=Ellen Ray, William Schaap, Karl Van Meter, Louis Wolf (Eds.)|year=1980|title=Dirty Work 2: The CIA in Africa|title-url=https://archive.org/details/CIAInAfrica/|chapter=THE RANGE OF COVERT INTERVENTION: Introduction (Philip Agee)|chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/CIAInAfrica/page/n60/mode/1up?view=theater|city=London|publisher=Zed Press}}</ref>

According to Stockwell, among the "major functions" of the CIA is the dissemination of false information to the press and the funding of authors to promote CIA propaganda in the U.S. literary sphere. Stockwell said in a 1983 interview that it was common practice to create "totally false propaganda" to create an "illusion" of communist atrocities, such as by planting false stories in newspapers and circulating fake photographs in the media. Citing anti-[[Republic of Cuba|Cuban]] propaganda as an example, Stockwell said, "We didn't know of one single atrocity committed by the Cubans. It was pure, raw, false propaganda to create an illusion of communists, you know eating babies for breakfast and the sort. Totally false propaganda."<ref name=":0">[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK1tfkESPVY "Former CIA Agent John Stockwell Talks about How the CIA Worked in Vietnam and Elsewhere."] Witness to War. YouTube. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220823212511/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NK1tfkESPVY Archive link].</ref>

Former CIA case officer [[Ralph McGehee]] described the CIA in the following way: "The CIA is not an intelligence agency. In fact, it acts largely as an anti-intelligence agency, producing only that information wanted by policymakers to support their plans and suppressing information that does not support those plans. As the covert action arm of the President, the CIA uses disinformation, much of it aimed at the U.S. public, to mold opinion." McGehee further states: "Instead of gathering genuine intelligence that could serve as the basis for reasonable policies, the CIA often ends up distorting reality, creating out of whole cloth 'intelligence' to justify policies that have already been decided upon. Policymakers then leak this 'intelligence' to the media to deceive us all and gain our support."<ref>Ralph W. McGehee. ''[https://archive.org/details/11-deadly-deceits-my-25-years-in-ralph-w.-mc-gehee Deadly Deceits: My 25 Years in the CIA]''. 1983. Open Road Integrated Media, New York. </ref>

=== Influencing public opinion ===
The CIA, through numerous agents and front organizations, plays a large role in disseminating disinformation and attempting to influence public opinion.

In addition to disseminating false stories and fake photos to the press, the CIA has also been involved in the printing of an untold number of books that contain CIA talking points regarding topics such as history and Marxism. According to Stockwell, a thousand of such books were printed during the Vietnam War, and many of the authors who produced these books under the auspices of the CIA went on to become respected figures in academia.<ref name=":0" />

The CIA and its front organizations have also taken an interest in funding and being involved with particular ideological currents and philosophical schools, such as can be seen with the CIA's interest in the [[Non-Communist Left]] and the [[Congress for Cultural Freedom]] as well as promotion of the [[Frankfurt School]] and influencing the development of [[critical theory]].<ref>Gabriel Rockhill. [https://mronline.org/2022/07/06/the-cia-the-frankfurt-schools-anti-communism/ “The CIA & the Frankfurt School’s Anti-Communism.”] MR Online. July 6, 2022. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220911102147/https://mronline.org/2022/07/06/the-cia-the-frankfurt-schools-anti-communism/ Archived] 2022-09-11.</ref>

The [[National Endowment for Democracy]] (NED) is a notable CIA-related organization used for influencing and supporting anti-communist projects.<ref>{{Web citation|newspaper=Embassy of the People's Republic of China in the United States of America|title=Fact Sheet on the National Endowment for Democracy|date=2022-05-07|url=http://us.china-embassy.gov.cn/eng/zgyw/202205/t20220507_10683090.htm|retrieved=2025-06-24}}</ref> The NED exists to fund these projects openly where previously they would have been funded covertly by the CIA.<ref>{{Web citation|author=Matt Kennard and Mark Curtis|newspaper=Declassified UK|title=‘CIA sidekick’ gives £2.6m to UK media groups|date=2022-01-17|url=https://www.declassifieduk.org/cia-sidekick-gives-2-6m-to-uk-media-groups/|retrieved=2025-06-24}}</ref>

Media organizations such as [[Voice of America]], [[Radio Free Asia]], and [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|Radio Liberty]] also promote CIA propaganda. In particular, [[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|Radio Liberty]] was funded by the CIA until 1971.<ref>{{Citation|author=Cord Meyer|year=2000|title=The CIA and Radio Free Europe|title-url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/43134017}}</ref>

The CIA has also experimented with mind control techniques, such as with [[Project MKUltra|Project MKULTRA]].<ref>{{Web citation|author=Brianna Nofil|newspaper=History.com|title=The CIA's Appalling Human Experiments With Mind Control|url=https://www.history.com/mkultra-operation-midnight-climax-cia-lsd-experiments|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/kaGNZ|archive-date=2025-09-05|retrieved=2025-09-05}}</ref>

Writing in 1977, the journalist [[Carl Bernstein]] listed Columbia Broadcasting System, Time Inc., the New York Times, Louisville Courier‑Journal, the Copley News Service, the American Broadcasting Company, the National Broadcasting Company, the Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, Hearst Newspapers, Scripps‑Howard, Newsweek magazine, the Mutual Broadcasting System, the Miami Herald, the Saturday Evening Post and the New York Herald‑Tribune as media outlets that cooperated with the CIA''.''<ref>{{Web citation|author=Carl Bernstein|newspaper=Rolling Stone|title=The CIA and the Media|date=1977-10-20|url=https://www.carlbernstein.com/magazine_cia_and_media.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071026060752/https://www.carlbernstein.com/magazine_cia_and_media.php|archive-date=2007-10-26|retrieved=2025-06-23|quote=Among the executives who lent their cooperation to the Agency were William Paley of the Columbia Broadcasting System, Henry Luce of Time Inc., Arthur Hays Sulzberger of the New York Times, Barry Bingham Sr. of the LouisviIle Courier‑Journal, and James Copley of the Copley News Service. Other organizations which cooperated with the CIA include the American Broadcasting Company, the National Broadcasting Company, the Associated Press, United Press International, Reuters, Hearst Newspapers, Scripps‑Howard, Newsweek magazine, the Mutual Broadcasting System, the Miami Herald and the old Saturday Evening Post and New York Herald‑Tribune.}}</ref>

=== Running secret wars ===
According to Stockwell, one of the CIA's principal functions is to run secret wars.<ref name=":0" /> As the CIA is an arm of the U.S. imperialist bourgeoisie, the primary objective in these wars is to keep countries open for U.S. capitalist interests. The CIA engages in the covert aspect of this goal.

The countries targeted for these wars are countries who seek full independence from the economic, political, or military interests of the United States. They may be socialist, revolutionary nationalist, or simply uncooperative with U.S. business interests. They may be targeted with other forms of interference, for instance with economic sanctions, in addition to a covertly CIA-led or CIA-instigated war.

=== Drug trafficking and arms dealing ===
The CIA has regularly been accused of drug trafficking and arms dealing in connection with its other covert activities. Arms dealing and drug trafficking serve the dual purpose of funding covert activities and organizations while also sewing chaos in targeted regions.

== Blowback ==
The issue of blowback, which refers to the unwanted side-effects of a covert operation, is a common result of covert activities. To the civilians suffering the blowback of covert operations, the effect typically manifests itself as "random" acts of political violence without a discernible, direct cause; because the public—in whose name the intelligence agency acted—are unaware of the effected secret attacks that provoked revenge (counter-attack) against them.

“Blowback” is a CIA term first used in March 1954 in a now declassified report on the 1953 operation to overthrow the government of [[Mohammed Mossadegh]] in [[Islamic Republic of Iran|Iran]]. It is a metaphor for the unintended consequences of the US government’s international activities that have been kept secret from the U.S. public.<ref>Chalmers Johnson. [https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/blowback/ “Blowback.”] The Nation. September 27, 2001. [https://archive.ph/lstHj Archive.ph]. [https://web.archive.org/web/20220628002237/https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/blowback/ Archive.org] 2022-06-28.</ref>

One example of blowback is the CIA's financing and support for the [[Mujahideen]] to fight an anti-Communist proxy guerrilla war against the USSR in Afghanistan. The Mujahideen would later become [[Al Qaeda]] which would commit the [[9/11 attacks|September 11, 2001 attacks]].

Due to the CIA's function as an anti-communist organization, it typically relies on right-wing groups to achieve its policy goals, either by latching on to and supporting pre-existing anti-communist groups and leaders or helping to create them. This leads to the spread of fascism, terrorism, and increased instability in regions where the CIA has used their influence, even after the CIA has ceased actively using them to achieve specific goals.

== See also ==

* [[Interview with former CIA agent John Stockwell]]
* [[List of atrocities commited by the United States of America|List of atrocities committed by the United States of America]]
* [[United States imperialism]]
*[[National Endowment for Democracy]]
*[[United States Department of State]]
*[[United States Intelligence Community]]
*[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty|Radio Liberty]]
*[[Radio Free Asia]]
*[[Voice of America]]
*[[Project MKUltra]]
*[[CIA Tibetan program]]
*[[Colour revolution]]
*[[Operation Gladio]]
*[[Operation Mockingbird]]
*[[Operation Paperclip]]
*[[Contras]]
*[[Operation Aerodynamic]]
*[[Vault 7]]
*[[Prague Spring]]
*[[Timber Sycamore]]
*[[Operation Cyclone]]

== External links ==

* ''[https://archive.org/details/whoswhoincia0en Who's Who in the CIA]'' (1968 book)

== References ==
<references />
[[Category:United States of America]]
[[Category:Far-right groups in the United States]]
[[Category:Imperialist secret police]]