Beijing LGBT Centre faces eviction after neighbours complain

BY NATASHA BARSOTTI – The Beijing LGBT Centre moved into its new digs three months ago, and now staff members say they have to look for new ones after neighbours complained to the landlord.

The landlord reportedly told employees of the centre its work is “too sensitive,” after neighbours learned its visitors are gay, Gay Star News reports. The centre, which has been operating in the city since 2008 and has three staff and about 50 volunteers, screens films in the space and hosts support groups, counselling sessions and talks.

The news site notes that while the city’s authorities have permitted the centre to do its business without harassment, police cancelled a well-publicized Rainbow Ride event to mark International Day against Homophobia last month.

Natasha Barsotti is originally from Trinidad and Tobago in the Caribbean. She had high aspirations of representing her country in Olympic Games sprint events, but after a while the firing of the starting gun proved too much for her nerves. So she went off to university instead. Her first professional love has always been journalism. After pursuing a Master of Journalism at UBC , she began freelancing at Xtra West — now Xtra Vancouver — in 2006, becoming a full-time reporter there in 2008.

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