Current Events > Chinese same-sex couples are getting married in Utah over Zoom

(+) Yeah! (+)

Xu Yanzhou and Zhu Xiaoming had a beautiful wedding. In front of flowers and candies, they exchanged vows reflecting on their five-year relationship, moving guests to tears. The pair put bangles on each others wrists. An officiant legally pronounced them husband and husband.

But little else was typical of a traditional Chinese wedding. The happy couple stood in their living room in Guangzhou, China, where same-sex marriage is illegal. The ceremony took place at midnight. And the officiant, appearing on Zoom, was in Utah.

My first challenge to you is to choose each other each day and choose to be happy, the 69-year-old officiant, Ben Frei, said in the video conference, as guests posted congratulatory messages in Chinese in the Zoom chat box. You need to create your marriage is somebody translating that?

The state of Utah in the United States has no citizenship requirements for marriage licenses, and Utah County is the only place there that allows international couples to register their marriages online. Since the county rolled out virtual weddings during the Covid-19 pandemic, it became a wedding haven for same-sex couples who are not able to officially marry in their own countries.

As sexual minorities in China face suppression at home, Utah County is allowing them to officially marry and celebrate their love all for around $100. Although the marriages arent recognized in China, some 200 same-sex couples from mainland China and Hong Kong have gotten married via the countys digital marriage license system since 2021, wedding planners and county staff told Rest of World.

https://restofworld.org/2022/chinese-same-sex-couples-married-zoom-utah/

dis is da future da liberuls want!!!

Huh. Chalk one up for Utah I guess.

Utah is now officially on the board with exactly 1 good point.

teep_ posted...

My first challenge to you is to choose each other each day and choose to be happy, the 69-year-old officiant, Ben Frei, said

Nice.

What's the point if China isn't gonna recognize it anyway >_> Why waste $100 for this? Seems more like a racket than a gesture of good faith lol

DKBananaSlamma posted...

What's the point if China isn't gonna recognize it anyway >_> Why waste $100 for this? Seems more like a racket than a gesture of good faith lol

I imagine it's mostly just a symbolic thing for the couple, much in the same way wedding jewelry is

Nice

Interesting new take on the old tradition of proxy weddings at court houses.

There were two high school students in the Midwest back in the 90s who would act as stand-ins for brides and grooms. Most of their clients were soldiers serving in the 90s Gulf War who wanted to get married to their fiance at home. The courthouse would send a VHS tape of the ceremony to the missing party. Sometimes both participants were missing, requiring both the boy and the girl to act as stand-ins together.

I would have never imagined Chinese same-sex couples using it as a way to get legally married. That is absolutely beautiful.