Tongzhi

Tongzhi (同志) literally means "same will" and was long used across Chinese-speaking societies to mean "comrade," a common form of address after the founding of the People's Republic of China. In 1989, organizers of Hong Kong's first gay and lesbian film festival adopted the word to describe LGBTQ+ people, borrowing the language of solidarity and shared purpose. The reclamation spread through Taiwan, Hong Kong, mainland China, and diaspora communities, and scholars often note it as a culturally grounded alternative to imported Western labels. Today it broadly covers gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people, though usage and nuance vary by region and generation.