1316 Timothy Hildebrandt Moreover,interest in securing marriage rights is relatively low among activists.To capture attitudes toward same-sex marriage,my nationwide surveys asked leaders from LGBT NGOs to rank six common issues addressed by their groups (same-sex marriage,HIV/AIDS,social pressure,family pressure,discrimination,and human rights)by time spent.Anticipating that a group might spend little time on an issue that they would prefer to address if given the choice,respondents were asked to then rank each issue by interest.The vast majority of respondents reported that among all the issues,they spent the least amount of time on same-sex marriage;it also ranked lowest in importance.Of the sixty respondents,same-sex marriage was never ranked first in time spent,and only 26 per cent placed it as second or third. Same-sex marriage was ranked as an issue of most interest by only nine per cent of survey respondents.The survey found no significant variation in time spent and interest.Same-sex marriage is simply not yet of great interest to LGBT leaders. While important,domestic civil society actors do not always affect policy change alone.Transnational advocacy networks can be crucial for pressuring authoritarian governments to adopt policies and norms that they might otherwise be reluctant to.Early studies of same-sex marriage have identified transnational activists,in concert with local players,as key for promoting the norm shift necessary to promulgate such policies.1 In China,however,these networks are unlikely to have much impact on same-sex marriage,just as they have been somewhat ineffective on HIV/AIDS and environmental issues:international organi- sations have been reluctant to pressure the government;1 international NGOs have usually maintained a non-antagonistic attitude toward the state to ensure that they can continue legally operating in the country;and domestic NGOs have found that working with international networks can damage their government relations,which are crucial for existence in the authoritarian polity.2 Despite a weak domestic civil society and unreliable international partners, same-sex marriage could still become a reality in China-if it comes from the top-down.(After all,in authoritarian polities,policymaking is rarely,if ever,an authentically bottom-up process.)But the state is unlikely to promulgate the policy is best explained by the political and economic opportunities afforded to gay men due to HIV/AIDS; lesbian women are not identified as a high-risk group for HIV/AIDS and therefore have a more difficult time securing funding and government sponsors(Hildebrandt.Forging). s The data presented in this article are derived from 25 in-depth anonymous interviews of gay and lesbian activists in China,conducted from June 2007 to April 2008.as well as a survey of nearly 50 LGBT social organisation leaders administered in March 2008.Data were collected as part of a larger project examining the relationship of Chinese social organisations and the state.Hildebrandt. Forging. Margaret Keck and Kathryn Sikkink,Activists Beyond Borders (Ithaca:Cornell University Press, (1998). 1o Kollman,Same-sex'. At a meeting of the Global Fund,the leader of a domestic NGO implored the Global Fund to pressure the government to include more truly independent NGOs in its HIV/AIDS work.The Chair of the Fund promptly replied that while he was sympathetic to the issue raised by the activist. because the Global Fund is 'country-led'and relies on a strong partnership with governments in the countries it operates,it will not pressure these governments to do one thing or another.He was emphatic in noting that the Fund must work within the framework of existing national laws and not oppose them (Participant observation,Kunming.China(11 November 2007). 12 Timothy Hildebrandt and John A.Zinda.The False Promise of TNAs in China',working paper (University of Wisconsin-Madison,2009):Fengshi Wu,Double-mobilization:Transnational Advo- cacy Networks for China's Environment and Public Health',unpublished dissertation(University of Maryland,2005).Moreover, interest in securing marriage rights is relatively low among activists. To capture attitudes toward same-sex marriage, my nationwide survey8 asked leaders from LGBT NGOs to rank six common issues addressed by their groups (same-sex marriage, HIV/AIDS, social pressure, family pressure, discrimination, and human rights) by time spent. Anticipating that a group might spend little time on an issue that they would prefer to address if given the choice, respondents were asked to then rank each issue by interest. The vast majority of respondents reported that among all the issues, they spent the least amount of time on same-sex marriage; it also ranked lowest in importance. Of the sixty respondents, same-sex marriage was never ranked first in time spent, and only 26 per cent placed it as second or third. Same-sex marriage was ranked as an issue of most interest by only nine per cent of survey respondents. The survey found no significant variation in time spent and interest. Same-sex marriage is simply not yet of great interest to LGBT leaders. While important, domestic civil society actors do not always affect policy change alone. Transnational advocacy networks can be crucial for pressuring authoritarian governments to adopt policies and norms that they might otherwise be reluctant to.9 Early studies of same-sex marriage have identified transnational activists, in concert with local players, as key for promoting the norm shift necessary to promulgate such policies.10 In China, however, these networks are unlikely to have much impact on same-sex marriage, just as they have been somewhat ineffective on HIV/AIDS and environmental issues: international organi￾sations have been reluctant to pressure the government;11 international NGOs have usually maintained a non-antagonistic attitude toward the state to ensure that they can continue legally operating in the country; and domestic NGOs have found that working with international networks can damage their government relations, which are crucial for existence in the authoritarian polity.12 Despite a weak domestic civil society and unreliable international partners, same-sex marriage could still become a reality in China – if it comes from the top-down. (After all, in authoritarian polities, policymaking is rarely, if ever, an authentically bottom-up process.) But the state is unlikely to promulgate the policy is best explained by the political and economic opportunities afforded to gay men due to HIV/AIDS; lesbian women are not identified as a high-risk group for HIV/AIDS and therefore have a more difficult time securing funding and government sponsors (Hildebrandt, Forging). 8 The data presented in this article are derived from 25 in-depth anonymous interviews of gay and lesbian activists in China, conducted from June 2007 to April 2008, as well as a survey of nearly 50 LGBT social organisation leaders administered in March 2008. Data were collected as part of a larger project examining the relationship of Chinese social organisations and the state. Hildebrandt, Forging. 9 Margaret Keck and Kathryn Sikkink, Activists Beyond Borders (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, (1998). 10 Kollman, ‘Same-sex’. 11 At a meeting of the Global Fund, the leader of a domestic NGO implored the Global Fund to pressure the government to include more truly independent NGOs in its HIV/AIDS work. The Chair of the Fund promptly replied that while he was sympathetic to the issue raised by the activist, because the Global Fund is ‘country-led’ and relies on a strong partnership with governments in the countries it operates, it will not pressure these governments to do one thing or another. He was emphatic in noting that the Fund must work within the framework of existing national laws and not oppose them (Participant observation, Kunming, China (11 November 2007). 12 Timothy Hildebrandt and John A. Zinda, ‘The False Promise of TNAs in China’, working paper (University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2009); Fengshi Wu, ‘Double-mobilization: Transnational Advo￾cacy Networks for China‘s Environment and Public Health’, unpublished dissertation (University of Maryland, 2005). 1316 Timothy Hildebrandt