But LGBTQ+ folks are mostly accepted these days especially in numerous clusters of liberal cities. In the West, they are also protected by political correctness

This is a very new phenomenon, though. That's 2006, and that wasn't the last piece of mainstream media with all sorts of non-accepting, non-PC elements.

I feel like there is still a long way to go, especially if you consider how much “face” (or social reputation) plays a major role in Chinese society.

The cultural difference might make more of a difference there than it does here, but this can change really fast.