People in China definitely don't live scared to criticise the government, I've had plenty of Chinese exchange students and discussed openly politics with them and they have no problem doing so. In fact, people in China have a much better opinion of their system of governance than we do anywhere in the west:

I think it's kinda a more complicated subject than anyone's presented in this argument. There are plenty of people who are afraid of criticizing the government, but they make up a tiny minority of the actual population and are more than likely ethnic minorities.

The overwhelming majority of Chinese nationals have very positive views of their government, which makes sense considering the advances this government has made over the last 50 years.

In my experience if you have talked to exchange students who are critical of the Chinese government, they are typically from Hong Kong, or from very wealthy families who would prefer a more hands off approach when it comes to the government's involvement in economics.

Queer rights need improving but are not horrible, people are free to have a relationship with whomever they want (though older generations may not understand it and may show prejudice)

Thats a bit of an understatement. As an Asian dude I can attest this isn't an issue unique to China but, it's a problem in any Asian country where Confucianism was prevalent in their history. You may be "free to have a relationship with anyone you want", just so long as you are not loud about it. You will face discrimination in things like employment and housing, and more than likely be disowned from your family. Though the only time the government will really get involved is if you participate in activism.

and thankfully China has no threat of a right wing party taking away the rights once they're earned!

I think this is a common misconception held by westerners, who typically associate cultural conservativism with economic liberalism. While there may not be a party representative of the economic right, that's really detached from the cultural mores promoted by the government.

All Eastern countries are more culturally conservative than most all western nations. And the values that the west associates with leftism are not typically aligned with what a country like China views as leftist policy. In fact, I would say the current make up is more culturally conservative than they were in the late 90 and 00s when they decriminalized thing like homosexuality. They are currently going through a bit of a nationalist streak, and with that are more culturally involved with promoting ideologies like Confucianism.

While I don't think they will recriminalize the LGBT community, their engagement with more typical leftist economic policy is no real indication of that. In fact, I think the more they utilize nationalism to promote their economic policy, the more likely they will emphasize their traditional cultural values, making it harder for lgbtq citizens to thrive within their communities.