[Photo:Blued]

The New York City Pride March, the largest pride parade in the world, has appointed a gay representative from China as one of its four grand marshals in 2017, marking the first time a Chinese citizen has been chosen to lead the modern gay rights movement.

The Chinese grand marshal, Gen Le, who is also the CEO and founder of Blued, the world’s largest gay social network app, told the media that he felt honored to be chosen as the first Chinese representative in the history of NYC Pride March, adding that he wanted to show the international LGBTQ community a new image of China.

“The event feels like a giant national carnival. Not only did I express my own pride, but I’ve also shown China’s image and progress [in fighting for LGBTQ rights]. I feel very proud of this,” said Geng after the event took place in NYC on June 25.

[Photo:Blued]

According to Blued’s official announcement on Sina Weibo, Chinese communities have actively participated in this year’s pride march. Blued, along with China Rainbow Network, a community for Chinese lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals who live in North America, has created a rainbow float to represent Chinese LGBTQ communities, as well as shown support for the event.

China’s gay rights movement has been rising in recent years, with the public showing increasing tolerance toward sexual minorities. But China’s LGBTQ individuals still face discrimination and sometimes even violence. According to a report released by the United Nations in 2016, access to health and social services remains difficult when one’s sexual orientation or gender diversity is known to, or even suspected by, service providers, while only five percent of LGBT individuals in China are willing to live their diversity openly.