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Germany

EU Proposal: Having A Bank Account Should Be A Basic Human Right

SUDDEUTSCHE ZEITUNG (Germany)

Worldcrunch

BRUSSELS - Freedom of speech, right to a fair trial, access to public education and ... a checking account for every citizen?

In the future every EU citizen should have the right to a basic bank account, according to proposed European-wide legislation, reports German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung. The proposed measure is expected to be put forward in June by Michel Barnier, the EU Commissioner responsible for internal market and services.

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Inside a Societe Generale branch in Paris (Benh LIEU SONG)

The EU Commission said the aim of the legislative package was to establish the legal basis for “a basic social right,” Süddeutsche Zeitungreports.

Currently more than 30 million EU citizens 18 and over have no bank account, which means that in many cases they cannot enter into certain contractual agreements such as the lease on an apartment or service contracts with telecommunications companies. The draft legislation argues that not having access to Internet makes these citizens unable to shop inexpensively online and thus benefit fully from the advantages of the European internal market.

According to the draft, there would (with some exceptions) be no service charges on these basic payment accounts.

Most of those without accounts live in eastern Europe: in Romania and Bulgaria, for example, only one in two people has an account, while in central and western Europe, one in ten citizens has no account.

Barnier's legislation would also make it easier to change banks, and financial institutions would be required to present their fees and conditions in a transparent and easy comparable way.

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LGBTQ Plus

My Wife, My Boyfriend — And Grandkids: A Careful Coming Out For China's Gay Seniors

A series of interviews in Wuhan with aging gay men — all currently or formerly married to women — reveals a hidden story of how Chinese LGBTQ culture is gradually emerging from the shadows.

Image of two senior men playing chinese Checkers.

A friendly game of Checkers in Dongcheng, Beijing, China.

Wang Er

WUHAN — " What do you think of that guy sitting there, across from us? He's good looking."

" Then you should go and talk to him."

“ Too bad that I am old..."

Grandpa Shen was born in 1933. He says that for the past 40 years, he's been "repackaged," a Chinese expression for having come out as gay. Before his wife died when he was 50, Grandpa Shen says he was was a "standard" straight Chinese man. After serving in the army, he began working in a factory, and dated many women and evenutually got married.

"Becoming gay is nothing special, I found it very natural." Grandpa Shen says he discovered his homosexuality at the Martyrs' Square in Wuhan, a well-known gay men's gathering place.

✉️ You can receive our LGBTQ+ International roundup every week directly in your inbox. Subscribe here.

Wuhan used to have different such ways for LGBTQ+ to meet: newspaper columns, riversides, public toilets, bridges and baths to name but a few. With urbanization, many of these locations have disappeared. The transformation of Martyrs' Square into a park has gradually become a place frequented by middle-aged and older gay people in Wuhan, where they play cards and chat and make friends. There are also "comrades" (Chinese slang for gay) from outside the city who come to visit.

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