It is rare to see human rights debated openly in China but the case of Xiao Ma has proven to be a fascinating exception.

Not only was Ma the first transgender person in China to sue an employer for gender discrimination but the lack of precedent in her case meant her lawyer used a transgender celebrity — who is widely known and accepted in China — as an example in her defence.

After waiting months for her day in court Ma, who transitioned from male to female in 2018, had her open trial heard in the city of Hangzhou last week.

It was a test case for equal rights in the workplace.

Chinese media and social media platforms like Weibo and WeChat have been alight with debate over Ma's case.

But Ma doesn't see herself as a pioneer: "I am just an ordinary woman, not a monster," she says. "I want my basic rights."

Xiao Ma is the first transgender person in China to sue her employer for sexual discrimination. ( Supplied )

'I was shocked'

Ma used to work as a camera assistant for a media and entertainment company and believed her colleagues to be open-minded and tolerant of who she regarded herself to be.

With support from family she spent about $20,000 on gender reassignment surgery overseas.

Ma returned to her job as soon as she could: Chinese labour law does not grant time off for recovery from this kind of operation.

But soon after starting back at work Ma's human resources manager called her in to say the company was facing financial difficulties. The HR manager said Ma had been marked for dismissal citing frequent lateness as a reason.

"I was shocked," says Ma. "It is such a cheap way to dismiss people and allows the employer to avoid paying the legally-required retrenchment package."

Ma didn't believe her dismissal was about lateness, but rather was discriminating against her as a result of her gender reassignment.

So instead of submitting to being sacked, Ma responded by suing her employer for a token amount of 10,000 yuan — around $2000. "This case isn't about money," says Ma.

"Even if I lose, I want to take it as an opportunity to speak up for equal rights in the workplace."

An inspirational court case

Ma was helped in her campaign by the Beijing LGBT Centre which advised her not to leave the company but to keep working and collect evidence to support her legal defence.

"This case makes more and more people realise the difficulties that LGBT people face in the workplace," says Fen Xu, the co-founder of the centre. "Many transgender people are not even granted a job interview once employers learn about their situation. Many LGBT people don't have confidence or lack of evidence to fight for their rights in the court. This case will inspire them."

In December last year, the Chinese Supreme Court added gender "equal employment rights" to Chinese labour law. Since then a few people have won lawsuits against employers for discrimination in the workplace.

But LGBT people like Ma are regarded as a "grey community" in China: considered neither legal nor illegal, their rights are not referenced in the law and there is no definition of workplace discrimination against them.

Making it more complex is the fact that China does not have an anti-discrimination law. The lack of this legal framework makes it difficult for Wang to define discrimination in Ma's case.

Enter the transgender celebrity

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To prove to the court that Ma had been discriminated against her lawyer Yongmei Wang used academic references to demonstrate to the judges what discrimination against a transgender person could look like.

And with no legal precedent to refer to Wang took the extraordinary step of using transgender celebrity Jin Xing as evidence to support the argument.

Jin — a former soldier and ballet dancer who is artistic director of her own contemporary dance company, Jin Xing Dance Theatre, and a well-known television host — is widely accepted by the Chinese public.

In court, Wang used her as a real-life example of how a transgender person could not just integrate into a mainstream workplace, but thrive.

Will China get anti-discrimination laws?

Demand is growing in China for anti-discrimination laws to be drafted. But the shape of these laws is still being debated and no agenda has yet been set on a way forward.

In the meantime those who most need protection from the law remain vulnerable.

Most Chinese courts are conservative and discrimination cases are often heard in this context. Secondly, even if a case is successfully filed it is hard to win because of the indirect nature of most workplace discrimination, and no legal framework to define it.

To help argue the concept of "indirect discrimination", Wang called on an expert witness from the Human Rights Research Department of Ren Min University to attend the trial.

"I hope Ma's case can assist in the establishment of a Chinese anti-discrimination law as well as making the public more aware of equal rights for LGBT," says Wang. "We need serious discussion on this topic."

China is officially an atheist country and discussion of LGBT rights lacks the conservative religious overtones that often features in debates on this topic in the West.

Instead another type of traditional conservatism looms large in China: acceptance by parents, many of whom value filial piety and the importance of grandchildren.

The Chinese government walks an interesting line on the LGBT community according to Xu, neither supporting and encouraging nor objecting to LGBT citizens.

The Chinese government neither encourages nor objects to LGBT+ citizens. (Jiangsu Tongtian Volunteer Group via AP) ( AP )

China decriminalised homosexuality in 1997, but it remained classified as a mental disorder until 2001.

Gay clubs in large cities like Beijing and Shanghai are not forced underground and have become popular with young avant-garde Chinese.

Even LGBT rights organisations are not outlawed and small scale activities are allowed in public.

Yet paradoxically the recent film about Freddie Mercury's life, Bohemian Rhapsody, was censored to remove references to his homosexuality.

At a time when China is in the news for its treatment of various sectors of the population — such as young feminist activist TingTing Li and her friends who were detained several times and warned by police following protests against domestic violence and advocating for equal rights for women — Ma's case represents a rare example in which human rights issues are allowed to be openly discussed.

Human rights activists and lawyers in China have demonstrated great resilience and persistence against threats from the state.

Ma's new life

After Ma completed her surgery she successfully changed her gender status on her ID within a month. The process was smooth. Ma visited a local hospital for a physical check and took a letter from her doctor to be notarised after which she was able to change her gender status at a local police station.

There has been a lot of debate over Ma's case on China's social media.

Ma's case has gained a great deal of attention on Chinese media and social media.

The Beijing Daily News wrote that transgender people "want equal rights not sympathy" and Red Star News quoted Ma as saying she is suing for "social acceptance, not compensation".

Social media discussion of her case has been broadly supportive.

Feifei Zhu wrote: "I hope she becomes a happy girl for the rest of her life after the gender reassignment surgery. I hope she suffers less discrimination".

Perseus-Shuo wrote: "I support you fight for your rights. You should not be discriminated against. Do not make other countries think (China is) behind them on human rights."

But some posters do not support her.

"Will you use the women’s or men’s bathroom?" one poster asked. Another said: "Why not learn something good from Western countries instead of something from the 'white left wing’? I discriminate against you".

Ultimately it is the judge's decision, not family disapproval or the outcome of social media debate, that will define the future of Ma and other transgender citizens of China.

The verdict is expected to be announced by June next year.

Cecily Huang is a producer in the ABC's Beijing bureau.