Although the Chinese government has decriminalized homosexuality since 1997, the country's LGBT community continues to be discriminated against, and recent developments have shown signs of rising hostility toward this minority group.

Xiao Meili is a prominent Chinese feminist activist and LGBT activist.

She told the BBC that the situation for LGBT people in mainland China is not the same as in Taiwan and is 'getting worse'.

"Earlier this year, Sina Weibo seemed to be blocking '#les' hashtags representing lesbianism. The 'Les Sky' group on the social networking site Douban has also been made private and hidden from public searches, which is worrying."

According to LGBT activists in China, two women wearing rainbow symbols on their clothing were attacked by security guards in Beijing's famous 798 art district last year.

Liu Ting, a 28-year-old Taiwanese, and Yang Xi, a 31-year-old resident of mainland China, are a couple currently living on the mainland, and the news of the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan has left them with mixed feelings.

Taiwan's same-sex marriage law only applies to Taiwanese nationals, and when one of the parties to a marriage is not Taiwanese, it will only be recognized in Taiwan if the person's country of nationality also allows same-sex marriage.

The couple met on Les Park, a lesbian messaging app in mainland China, and quickly fell in love. In 2018, they completed their household registration as same-sex couples in Kaohsiung - a southern Taiwan city that has been accepting applications since 2015.

However, their residency permits are not the same as real legally recognized marriage registrations and give them limited rights.

Under Taiwan's new law, they can't get married because mainland China doesn't recognize same-sex marriages or civil unions.

While Liu Ting is encouraged by the news of Taiwan's changing laws, she is worried about her future and that of her partner.

"I'm as worried as I've ever been about the issue of transnational same-sex marriages, especially since the relationship between China and Taiwan is so tense. When we finally die, we want the law to recognize our relationship and we want to be able to safeguard and protect our families," she said.

This is not a good road for them.

"Our families are very traditional and they have limited information about the LGBT community. They associate homosexuality with AIDS, so they do everything they can to prevent us from being together," says Yang Xi.

After both parents resisted, Liu Ting's parents finally decided to meet Yang Xi.

Due to the tense relationship between Taiwan and China, Yang Xi and Liu Ting were separated for much of their relationship.

As a resident of China, Yang Xi is only allowed to stay in Taiwan for 15 days at a time.

Earlier this year, Liu Ting moved to Mainland China to live with Yang Xi. Life as an LGBT couple in Mainland China is very different for them.

"The LGBT community in Taiwan is much more developed, and after decades of advocacy by the media and various LGBT organizations, new measures and laws to protect people from discrimination are already being implemented," Liu Ting said.

"Our LGBT organization in Wuhan had to meet in a residential building," Yang Xi said.

"Neighbors may even complain