China wife of gay husband contests estate against his lover, parents after man’s death

A gay man in northern China who married his boyfriend’s sister to secure relocation compensation died in a traffic accident, sparking a bitter dispute over his estate between his wife, his lover and his parents.

Xu Tian, a 48-year-old Beijing native and senior executive at a state-owned company, had been in a 10-year relationship with his boyfriend, Xue Chong, a doctor two years his junior.

Neighbours said the gay couple often posed as father and son in public.

Both families knew about their relationship and quietly accepted it.

China decriminalised homosexuality in 1997 and later removed it from its mental illness register. Acceptance has grown during the years in first tier cities like Shanghai, Beijing and Chengdu.

  

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