BANGKOK, Thailand — In 2019, business was booming for Owen Zhu. He was one year into his new career in real estate, showing Bangkok properties to Chinese investors.
Then the pandemic halted travel and spending. Even now, Chinese buyers are slow to return.
The exception has been one group that has since become Zhu’s specialty: LGBTQ+ clients looking to build a new life for themselves outside China.
Even if same-sex marriage does become legal in Thailand, Hu and Wu would be ineligible as Chinese citizens. Though the lack of marriage and naturalization prospects means their time in Bangkok will be limited — they dream of someday moving to California — for now they can reflect on the freedom they have found here.
It makes me both proud of our country and deeply saddens me that people have to slog through various countries with distant hopes to eventually make it to the USA to live in a safe environment where they can marry.
We gotta make sure to vote and keep our country together. Not just for ourselves, but for people who risk everything just for a slim chance at avoiding persecution back home. We are so fucking lucky. Stories like these are like a slap in the face, reminding us not to take anything for granted.
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