A court in Qingdao accepted the teacher’s case on Thursday.

Tang said, as far as he was aware, it is the first case in China of a gay teacher taking a school to court after being fired over sexual orientation.

The teacher is seeking a court order that he be rehired and paid compensation for his financial losses, according to a copy of the court filing seen by Reuters.

The name of the school and the court were redacted in the court filing. Tang declined to give the names of the court and the school because he said it might affect the case.

Chinese activists have organized rallies to press for greater protections for the LGBT community - and same-sex marriage - to be included in a civil code set to be passed in 2020.

Despite thriving gay scenes in many of China’s big cities and growing awareness of LGBT issues, gay people have battled against conservative Confucian values and government censorship.