At the start of the pandemic, a number of couples requested Zoom ceremonies, and the county made those available as well. The Utah County and Auditor’s Office moved its marriage licensing service online, as part of a digitization initiative in 2019, Burt Harvey, a division manager who oversees public services and tax administration, told Rest of World. Queer content in films or TV shows often triggers censorship - related plot lines in Friends, Fantastic Beasts and Bohemian Rhapsody have been removed in China.įor authorities in Utah County, the influx of international couples came as a surprise. Last year, messaging app WeChat shut down dozens of LGBTQ+ accounts. The country’s longest-running LGBTQ+ festival, Shanghai Pride, canceled its annual event indefinitely from 2020. Sexual minorities struggle with discrimination and censorship in China. Although the marriages aren’t recognized in China, some 200 same-sex couples from mainland China and Hong Kong have gotten married via the county’s digital marriage license system since 2021, wedding planners and county staff told Rest of World. 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.Īs sexual minorities in China face suppression at home, Utah County is allowing them to officially marry and celebrate their love - all for around $100. 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. “You need to create your marriage … is somebody translating that?” “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. And the officiant, appearing on Zoom, was in Utah. The happy couple stood in their living room in Guangzhou, China, where same-sex marriage is illegal. An officiant legally pronounced them husband and husband.īut little else was typical of a traditional Chinese wedding. The pair put bangles on each other’s wrists. In front of flowers and candies, they exchanged vows reflecting on their five-year relationship, moving guests to tears. Xu Yanzhou and Zhu Xiaoming had a beautiful wedding.

Gay zoom community