Basketball team members in China carried a banner saying “defend core socialist values” and “keep homosexuality far from campus” at a university Sunday, sparking outrage.
Ling Bing, the women’s basketball team coach at Huazhong University of Science and Technology of Central China, posted a photo of team members carrying the banner online, The New York Times reported Thursday.
“Protect traditional Chinese morals,” read the banner. “Defend core socialist values. Resist corrosion from decadent Western thoughts. Keep homosexuality far from campus.”
Upon receiving backlash for posting the picture, Ling noted what he perceived to be a “double standard” — gay students flaunt rainbow flags at graduation, but the banner held by his basketball team was deemed wrong, as reported by The New York Times.
“What a pity that the great Chinese Communist Party and the great people of China won’t give you a chance to do that,” he said, in a post from Chinese instant messaging platform QQ obtained by The New York Times.
People across China are calling for the coach to be fired, and students at the school are shocked, according to The New York Times.
“It’s shocking to know things like this can happen,” said Luo Yinxi, a gay Huazhong student, according to the Thursday article.
Chinese activists and students demanded that the government help protect non-straight individuals.
“This incident will be over soon, but the scar of it is never going to be erased,” said one user on WeChat, a messaging service popular in China, as obtained by The New York Times. “Don’t wait until the next tragedy to make up for it.”
The Daily Caller News Foundation reached out to Huazhong University of Science and Technology for comment, but was informed that the school’s mailbox was full. The university declined The New York Times’ request for comment.
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