Late 19th century
1899
German psychiatrist Albert von Schrenck-Notzing claimed to have successfully converted a gay man using hypnosis and forcing sexual intercourses with the opposite sex.
History of Conversion Therapy
Early 20th Century
1930s
Chinese newspaper warns of the pathological dangers of homosexuality.
1940s
Lobotomy as a form of conversion therapy became popularized in Western countries.
Chinese newspaper discussed the cures for homosexuality.
Mid 20th century
1960-1970
Sexual minorities in mainland China received social class education and labor reforms.
Progress of pathologization of sexual/gender minority
1973
The American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its list of mental illness.
Late 20th century
1983-1988
Six gay people were treated with electric shocks at the Mental Health Institute of Beijing Medical University.
1989
CCMD-2 lists homosexuality as a form of psychological disorder, enabling it to become pathologized in mainland China.
1992
The psychological department at Wannan Medical College conducted conversion therapy on a gay man using cognitive therapy and medications.
Shanghai Psychological Counseling Center conducted conversion therapy through cognitive behavioral therapy for two gay people.
1996-1998
Three gay men were treated with electric shocks, apomorphine hydrochloride injections, and psychotherapy at a psychiatric hospital in Henan Province.
1997
The Third People's Hospital of Lanzhou ordered a gay man to take clomipramine orally for conversion therapy.
1998
The department of Psychology of South China Normal University used hypnotic electric shocks to perform conversion therapy on three gay people.
1990
ICD-10 no longer lists homosexuality as a form of mental illness and is recognized by the international medical community.
1996
A revision group for the CCMD-3 was established in mainland China.
The non-profit organization "Aizhi Movement" carried out a series of events contacting and lobbying CCMD-3 members and mental health experts, attempting to push for the depathologization of homosexuality.
Liu Huaqing of Beijing Huilongguan Hospital began to contact gay people in Beijing, collecting samples of psychological tests to research whether homosexuality should be depathologized.
1997
The Chinese mental health field held a debate regarding whether homosexuality should be depathologized; The "Mental Health Communications" published a total of 20 articles for both sides of the argument regarding the pathologization of the debate.
1998
A survey conducted at the "Sino-German Training Program for Senior Psychotherapists" shows that Chinese psychologists and psychiatrists have a negative and disapproving attitude towards homosexuality, reflecting the difficulty of CCMD-3 in depathologizing homosexuality.
Early 21st century
1999-2004
The psychological department at Anshan Central Hospital consulted and conducted conversion therapy on 16 homosexual individuals.
2009
The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University conducted conversion therapy on three gay men using rubber band aversion therapy, minor hypnotism, and psychotherapy.
Yang Yongxin's Internet Addiction Treatment Center at Linyi Mental Hospital came to attention after a large number of gay teenagers were subjected to electroconvulsive therapy.
2014
Twenty-three homosexual college students in Jiangxi province experienced conversion therapy with aversion therapy and cognitive behavioral therapy by doctors of Jiangxi University of Traditional Chinese Medicine.
2015
According to a report on "Mental Health and Psychological Counseling Practitioners' Attitudes toward Sexual Minorities" released by the Beijing LGBT Center, 36.2 percent of 996 mental health and psychological counselors interviewed said they supported conversion therapy, and 73 individuals said they had done it before.
2019
Huang Xiaodi, a transgender girl, was sent by her parents to an institution in Chongqing for conversion therapy.
Xiao Zhu, a transgender girl, was forced by her mother to undergo conversion therapy in a private hospital in Shandong Province.
2020
Ke Cheng, a transgender girl, was sent by her parents to an institution in Jinan for conversion therapy.
2001
CCMD-3 was published, stating that homosexuality will be depathologized in China but "self-dissonance homosexuality" still remains as a mental illness.
2003
Eryan publicly questioned the article regarding keeping "self-dissonance homosexuality" in CCMD-3.
2006
The Declaration of Montreal was issued and May 17 became the official International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia.
2014
Xiao Zhen won the case of "homosexual corrective therapy" against "Xinyupiaoxiang Psychological Counseling Center", becoming the first successful case of conversion therapy infringement in mainland China.
2016
Yu Hu, a gay man, won a conversion therapy case against Zhumadian Psychiatric Hospital in Henan Province.
2017
Xixi appealed textbooks that pathologized homosexuality and their vendors, known as the "Homophobic Textbook Case".
2019
Wu Laobai and Lin He launched the "Lovers" performance art project, touring several cities in China with three red vans carrying three billboards to protest against the pathologization of homosexuality and conversion therapy.
ICD-11 no longer classifies gender incongruence (transgender) as a mental disorder; transgender is depathologized.
2020
Plaintiff Xixi loses the "Homophobic Textbook Case".