The court of Haidian district heard the lawsuit of Xiao Zhen (pseudonym), a gay man, against a Chongqing-based psychological counseling center named Xinyu Piaoxiang that offered conversion treatment involving electro-shock therapy. He also sued Baidu, China's largest search engine, for posting adver
verification of evidence prolonged the process until around 2 pm. "I was asked to recount the treatment at the court and that gave me goose bumps. I didn't want to recall that therapy, but the lawyers of the defendants obviously couldn't get my feelings," Xiao Zhen told reporters outside the court.
Xiao Zhen, 30, came out of the closet in 2010. In the face of pressure from his parents, he began to look for "help" in 2013. Learning that homosexuality could be "curable," he searched Baidu, which showed the electro-shock treatment at Xinyu Piaoxiang at the top of search results, according to Xiao
arm with electric shock. "The psychiatrist told me the therapy would take five courses, each including six treatments. And that means three to four periods of shock during each treatment. I thought I would go insane after all that," Xiao Zhen told the Global Times. He gave up after just one treatment.
Li Duijun, Xiao Zhen's lawyer, told the Global Times that Xiao Zhen stood a big chance of victory based on presented evidence that could prove the counseling center was unlicensed for psychological treatment.
