LGBT people make use of guardianship services

Two lesbians in Chengdu, Sichuan province, who have been together for more than a decade, recently went to a local notary public office to register as appointed guardians for each other with a belief that "we will be kind to each other under any circumstance".

Appointed guardianship - a system allowing adult citizens to select a trusted person to make decisions for them in cases such as medical rescue - recently triggered discussions among the LGBT community as a rising number of such individual cases have been reported by local media.

Li Chenyang, assistant to the director at Shanghai Putuo District Notary Public Office, said that the office has handled more than 10 applications from LGBT partners to have each other as their appointed guardians.

The provinces of Jiangsu, Sichuan, Hunan and Hubei have also handled such cases. Beijing became the latest with two gay men applying to be appointed guardians for each other earlier this month.

Legal experts said that the system was initially designed for an aging society to allow seniors to better protect themselves if they have lost their only child or their children suffer from mental problems.

Although far from what a legal relationship like a marriage can offer, appointed guardianship, which became effective for all adult citizens in October 2017, gives such people an opportunity to let their actual life partner speak on their behalf in emergencies.

The 29-year-old woman in Chengdu said that she and her girlfriend regarded the guardianship as more meaningful for LGBT people living on the Chinese mainland than registering for marriage in a foreign country where same-sex marriage is lawful.

"This grants a more or less practical safeguard rather than mere symbolism, although it's still very far from the rights and duties that a couple is granted by marriage, and it's absolutely not a legal same-sex marriage," said the woman, who preferred to be named as Zaizi.

Li from the notary office said they usually talk to the two applicants for hours about their willingness, relationship and backgrounds before offering such a service.

"If two people have not been together for a long time, I advise them to think twice as this is serious, entitling another person to make decisions for you relating to life and death," he said.

Li explained that when the person under guardianship is in a coma, the guardian has the right to withdraw money with his or her card and report the loss of the password to the bank. The guardian can also decide what to do with the property of the patient, such as obtaining money for medical treatment.

"But an appointed guardian is not an heir by law and doesn't participate in the distribution of inheritance," he said.

Ding Yaqing, a Guangzhou-based lawyer who focuses on the LGBT community, said: "Even if a gay man has savings of 100 million yuan ($14 million), he needs someone who can legally use the card so that he can save his life.

"I understand that such a legal notary document will relieve their concern that nobody will take care of them in case of accidents, and there may be a sense of commitment between the two," said Ding, an attorney of civil cases.

Zaizi said that she and her girlfriend both informed their parents before the registration.

"Our parents understood that one day, when I need someone to sign on the hospital record to proceed with medical rescue or give up further treatment, my girlfriend will be prioritized by law to make the decision before my parents," she said.

"Actually I believe that she and my parents will make a joint decision, which is the best for me," she said.

However, a 21-year-old gay man in Shanghai said that the system is more of a psychological comfort for partners as it only takes effect when one person loses capacity for civil conduct.

"But still, it's meaningful to some extent," said the university student who gave his name as KK. "I believe most LGBT people who have the idea to have an appointed guardianship are in a broken relationship with their parents and live away from home. They need someone to legally make decisions for their sake."