Though there are over 1,000 people in China who have received gender reassignment surgery, 33-year-old Ying Ning is the first one to ever go public with it. She is openly talking to the media about her excitement over receiving her new ID card that lists her as a female. Prior to receiving her new card, Ying had to postpone a trip out of fear that airport security would be confused upon seeing "male" on her ID. Regulations to receive a new ID card under a new gender include providing medical proof of the surgery, and parental consent, even if the person is of legal age (wow, really?)

We have enormous progress that still needs to be made, but look at what has happened just in the past month! The first pregnant transgendered man to go public in the U.S., and the first transgendered woman to go public in China. I think that first person is so important, because he/she can inspire others to go public as well. And putting people who are "different" in the limelight is an important way to get others to fully understand them and to stop fearing the unknown.

The full article can be found here, on a Chinese news website. The lack of understanding in China can be seen solely in the title of the article, as it uses the term "transsexual," which isn't quite PC. But hopefully this is the first of many important steps to come.