Thread by @WilliamYang120

“Authorities in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong have sent an investigative team to an arts university to probe the suicide death of a rising dance star who was also an out gay man, state-backed media reported.” #China rfa.org/english/news/c…

“Gao Yan, 19, died by suicide while at his parental home in the northern province of Hebei, where he had gone to celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival, a time dedicated to family reunions.”

"Gao, who came first in a province-wide dance examination, had performed several times at the Spring Festival gala performance for state broadcaster CCTV in February, and who had already won a prestigious dance award, ...

... was about to begin his junior year majoring in dance at the Shandong University of Arts."

"There are suspicions that he had been bullied and suppressed by his class teacher for some time prior to his death," a report on the Chinese news portal Sina.com said.

"An investigative team has gone to Shandong University of Arts hoping to find out the truth and make some account on behalf of this beautiful youth."

"He loved his major and loved to dance so much ... and had promised his friends he would work hard for the postgraduate entrance examinations, and he had the potential to become a future dance star," the article said.

A post on the Wikipedia-like site Zhihu said the main reason Gao had been ostracized and suppressed by his class teacher was his sexual orientation.

"While same-sex marriage has not been legalized in our country, these groups still exist, and none of them have been declared illegal. So you may not accept or understand them, but I hope you can learn to respect them."

"It's not as if they are affecting your daily life."

Gao's parents were seen in one video circulating on social media weeping and calling for an explanation from the school.

"We are from the countryside, and we have been here for eight days," Gao's father tells the camera. "Now we are waiting here for a statement, and we can't say anything."