The delicate issue of sexual orientation

The year 2014 could be transformative for China's reform, as some analysts say, but it may not be so for those seeking more rights for homosexual groups and legalization of same-sex marriage.

Before the annual sessions of the National People's Congress and Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference started, a gay student from a university in Guangzhou sent letters to more than 3,000 NPC deputies and CPPCC members, urging them to submit proposals at the two sessions for legalizing same-sex marriage. He is not the first to do so and definitely will not be the last.

With people becoming more tolerant toward homosexuality, gays and lesbians have become more visible nowadays. But homosexuality is still to receive due consideration within the legislative circle, and by maintaining silence on the issue, the authorities seem to neither encourage nor discourage same-sex marriage.