http://www.thebeijinger.com/forum/2010/01/17/China-still-hates-gays
Pressure on gays intensifies after pageant shutdown
Raymond Li and Reuters
Jan 17, 2010
A day after police halted a gay beauty pageant in Beijing, a prominent NGO helping Aids patients and the gay community was forced to cancel a gathering to mark the 16th anniversary of its founding.
Officials also delayed the debut of the mainland's first state-sponsored radio programme dedicated to HIV issues.
Wan Yanhai , founder of Aizhixing, said Beijing police told them they could not proceed with the planned anniversary celebration yesterday. Wan said he had no idea why police intervened, but said his organisation had previously run afoul of authorities for providing assistance to petitioners affected by HIV/Aids.
The authorities also ordered the postponement of a weekly one-hour talk show, Positive Talks, co-hosted by a China National Radio anchor and an HIV-positive volunteer, apparently because it lacked final approval from the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television, two people knowledgeable about the show said. The talk show is an unprecedented coloration that took nearly two years of negotiations between the show's sponsor, the United Nations Development Programme, and the state-owned radio station.
It was to have aired at 9pm local time yesterday.
It was not clear why the permit was lacking, since the show appeared to enjoy high-level official support. A press conference to launch the show earlier this month was attended by China National Radio's deputy chief editor as well as by the director of the National Centre for STD/HIV Control and Prevention.
On Friday, about 10 police officers went to upmarket Lan Club in downtown Beijing, to tell organisers of the mainland's first public gay beauty pageant to cancel the event, shortly before the eight contestants were to take the stage.
It remained unknown why the police launched the high-profile crackdown, with 200 people and journalists at the scene, an hour before the contest began.
Usually, officials tell organisers to call off an event days or hours beforehand.
Organisers were not available for comment yesterday. However, a statement on their website said the event was "temporarily cancelled" as they needed more time to prepare the trophy.
Mainland media, including Beijing News, carried reports on the cancellation. But they quoted police from Beijing's Chaoyang district as saying the organisers cancelled the event "voluntarily".
Wan believed that the eleventh hour crackdown showed government officials had different opinions about how to handle the issue.
Professor Li Yinhe , a prominent sociologist specialising in gay culture studies, said she was confused by the crackdown, pointing to the mainland's lack of laws relating to homosexuality.
"In dealing with the issue of homosexuality, authorities are always more conservative than the general public and as a result we have no rules to follow," Li said.
没有评论:
发表评论