“Gay” and “Chinese”. Two words that have more cultural friction than a pair of bearded drag queens going in for a hairy hello kiss. China’s LGBT history has been difficult and fraught. Homosexuality only became legal in 1997 and same-sex scenes are still banned from their television. In fact, it was only last year that the social media giant Weibo decided to stop censoring “gay-themed” content after a huge online campaign, which gave birth to catchy hashtags like #iamgaynotapervert.

China to remove LGBT scenes from Bohemian Rhapsody Read more

So it’s no surprise to discover that when the Oscar-winning biopic Bohemian Rhapsody gets its release in China this month, censors will cut as much as two minutes of the homosexual scenes and drug use. It may not seem like a lot, but in a film which spends the latter third recreating Freddie Mercury’s enthralling Live Aid performance – it’s a decent chunk. For some, two minutes of gay intimacy constitutes an entire relationship with extra time for a post-coital cigarette. Censorship here is being used as a way to demonise drugs and gay kisses, both equally bad in the eyes of the state.

But the shocker for me is that Bohemian Rhapsody is even being released there in the first place. After all, Call Me By Your Name was axed from the Beijing Film Festival. Granted, it’s only being shown in limited art-house cinemas (with the potential to expand if successful) but I feel like this is a step in the right direction. Of course, in an ideal world, Bohemian Rhapsody would get a mainstream release with full-on snogs and drugs-a-plenty. To censor such scenes does a huge disservice to China’s LGBT communities. Sex and drugs are part of Mercury’s story, and to erase that is to diminish him. Yet China is not the only country that hasn’t had the full picture of his life. Even in its uncensored state the film was criticised for leaving out much of the debauchery.

Rami Malek wins best actor Oscar for Bohemian Rhapsody Read more

Perhaps, what can be more important about this release, is that in Bohemian Rhapsody we have a Trojan Horse entering China. This film will reinforce the legend of Mercury to the Chinese masses who will flock to it because of its awards, controversy and star power. In a country where homosexual activity is banned from TV, we have a film that quietly infiltrates the population, with a story centred on a real gay man, a gay man who contributed massively to the international history of popular culture, who sparked discussions about HIV/Aids, and who showed that there can be great love and acceptance amongst straight allies. This can be the takeaway for Chinese audiences – no matter how hard the censors try to avoid it.

Mercury is a legend, and as a Chinese pop artist and singer myself, he inspired me to become the best, gayest and truest version of myself. Bohemian Rhapsody captures that. I cried during the Live Aid scene. I cried for all the creative potential that was lost. I cried at the fact that Aids was only just being discovered and that in that brief window, it prematurely claimed the life of one of the most influential artists of our cultural history. I cried for all the lives that would be lost to it. To deny Chinese audiences this hugely gay-centred cinematic experience because of a couple of minutes that go missing would be a great shame, and no victory for LGBT rights.

As a gay Chinese man, I understand the weight of tradition and China’s culture of saving face. I also know where to choose your battles, and this isn’t the film to overturn gay censorship. Not yet. With Bohemian Rhapsody, Mercury has got his foot in the door of China. As he describes in the film, he didn’t want to become a poster boy for gay issues and HIV/Aids, he just wanted to make music. So let us, the next generation, continue the work, to push the conversation, make new films, music and art – so that we can eventually knock down all those walls between us.

• Le Fil is a pop artist, singer and performer with LGBT collective Sink The Pink. Le Fil: 24/7 Live a multimedia pop concert exploring gender and identity will be on at London’s Omnibus Theatre on 23 March