Li Shiu Tong

Li Shiu Tong (, 1 September 1907 – 5 October 1993) was a Hong Kong medical student and sexologist. Some consider him an early LGBTQ activist. He was a companion of the German sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld.

Early life Li Shiu Tong was born in British Hong Kong on 1 September 1907 as the second son of Li Wing Kwong, a wealthy Chinese local bank owner and landlord. In 1924 the young Li went to St John's University, Shanghai, to study medicine, but dropped out without a degree.

Early career and world tour

Li met Hirschfeld in Shanghai at a public lecture for Chinese feminists at China United Apartments in 1931. Li recalled that "His lectures [were] about human sexual variation, particularly on homosexuality, a still ignorant and controversial topic." After the lecture, Li approached Hirschfeld, who claimed "[Li] offered himself to me, after my first lecture in Shanghai, as a 'companion' and 'protector', to take care of me and help me wherever I might want to travel in China, in particular to stand by my side as a Chinese interpreter." His father approved of Li accompanying Hirschfeld and hoped that his son would become "the Hirschfeld of China". Hirschfeld nicknamed him "Tao Li" (also spelled Taoli; ; ; also a reference to the usage of peaches as symbolism for homosexuality in Chinese culture), a name that he would be known as by others in their circles. Li accompanied Hirschfeld travelling to Beijing and Nanjing, also meeting with the Kuomintang Minister of Health to talk about "prostitution, birth control, and homosexuality". During this time, he also used the alias "Mr. Mann Lee". There were many instances of racism against Li throughout the world tour. For instance, Li was not allowed to leave the ship to enter American-occupied Manila until he obtained special clearance because of the Immigration Act of 1924 and the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. It remains an open question whether the undoubtedly close relation between Li and Hirschfeld was sexual or romantic.

Death and legacy Li died on 5 October 1993 at St Paul's Hospital, Vancouver, at the age of 86. Li's youngest brother dealt with his affairs, and many of his manuscripts and belongings ended up in a dumpster near his apartment. A neighbour recovered "an old German passport from the 1930s, black-and-white photographs, papers, a little journal filled with a scrawling hand, a few letters, many copies of a French magazine called , and... Hirschfeld's death mask." Ralf Dose, who wrote Magnus Hirschfeld: The Origins of the Gay Liberation Movement, came across a listing for the items eight years later and obtained them along with Li's books from his brother, who claimed he kept the books because Li had risked his life to save them from Nazi Germany. Most of the manuscript probably ended up in the Delta landfill.