Reports from Wan Yanhai, a respected AIDS activist in China, say that authorities there are cracking down on gay establishments, possibly related to the run-up to this summer’s Olympics. Two examples:
In the afternoon of 20 March 2008, more than 10 police cars visited “Oasis” club, the most popular gay bath house in Beijing. More than 70 people, including all the members of staff and clients were taken away. After more than 30 hours, in the early morning of 22 March, the clients of the house were released. But the members of staff were kept detained. In the early morning of 21 March, the police visited another Oasis bath house near Dongsishitiao Bridge, and took away all members of staff, but not the clients. At present, these two bath houses have been shut down. It was reported that at the same time, in another part of the city, another gay bath house was also shut down.
… On 9 March 2008, a popular LGBT night club in Beijing, called Destination, was visited by the police. The police said the club was too crowded. As a result, people’s access to the club was restricted and the music stopped. The club was shut down and resumed business only a few days after.
Wrote Kennth Tan of the Chinese website Shanghaiist:
Such a huge crackdown on gay-frequented establishments/spaces executed within such a short period of time has been unheard of in China, and therefore it is raising alarm bells with good reason. Gay life in China has been enjoying prettey much unfettered development over the last decade, so it could be that we’re at a point in time when the authorities see the need to rein in the unbridled growth. Are the crackdowns being executed as part of a larger “spring cleaning exercise” ahead of the Olympics so China would be able to project to the world its best image, whatever that means to the powers that be? Only time will tell.
This is disturbing information and shows how out of touch China’s leaders are. Cracking down on gays will not present a positive picture to the West, where gays and lesbians can live more openly. It will only increase the chances that the Games will be mired in legitimate protests over human rights issues in China. –Jim Buzinski
on Apr 3rd, 2008 at 7:18 AM
I was at Destination a few weeks ago while in Beijing. I had a great time there. I was told that occasional police visits have been going on for years now, somewhat contradicting the Chinese governments public talk about gay rights and equality (to the extent that the government there, while probably never intending to allow it, discuss gay marriage from time to time). But overall, being in Beijing with my boyfriend and, while not being in peoples’ faces about our gayness, we did not go out of our way to hide our relationship and we were treated extremely well by everybody including the police, soldiers and general public.
on Apr 3rd, 2008 at 8:32 PM
How distressing that the guys at Oasis were detained and/or taken away! I truly hope they are all okay. That’s surely not going to be good for their business in the future. A real shame. Their new location near Dongsishitiao is a nice place – though not at all like a Western bath house, it was quite hopping with a nice mix of young/old & local/foreign guys … and action to be had all over the place.
I was inside Destination during the first police “raid” on the night of the 8th/9th March. If I recall correctly, it was at midnight that the music suddenly ended. Friends who had just arrived outside were not allowed in. Then before we went out to meet them, security told us we would not be allowed to re-enter. There were a couple of police cars outside with their lights flashing, but no obvious (uniformed) police presence inside.
I departed China as previously scheduled a couple of days later, and since friends who have gone to Destination said it’s not as busy as it was before the brief closure. (Perhaps not a bad thing as it was sometimes packed beyond comfort.)
I agree with Matt (above) that China is generally not gay-unfriendly. My Chinese partner & I held hands everywhere we went – though we are certainly not out to his family. If there’s any complaint I have about being gay in Beijing, it’s that there aren’t enough gay bars or venues.
on Apr 3rd, 2008 at 11:39 PM
This is a terrible thing to be happening. I heard a report on NPR that China feels the Olympics are more important for the internal image of China to the people, than the external press. China has vast amounts of cash and trade. The report was about Tibet and why China did not seem to worry about response from the west regarding the protests and crackdowns in Tibet.
I was recently sent a packet of MS Word documents, regarding Gay sports in Shanghai. It lead me to believe China was moving forward for LGBT folks.
Here is the first paragraph of the main document:
Sunhomo – Shanghai Gay Men’s Social Organization
Sunhomo is a gay men’s social organization that meets for sporting and cultural activities. Founded in 2002, Sunhomo has chapters in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Wuhan, Nanjing, Lanzhou and other Chinese cities, and is designed to provide additional options for gay men to socialize besides bars and bath houses.
In Shanghai there are five swimming groups (Huangpu, Shanghai Stadium, Pudong, Changning and Jing’an groups), as well as several gay badminton groups, a volleyball group, football (soccer) group, ping pong group, tennis group, yoga group, wushu (kungfu) group, marathon runners group, and a bodybuilding/fitness group. Cultural groups include a gay foreign language group, Chinese opera group, drama group, KTV singing group, photography group, and some interesting though currently less active groups (gay gourmets, stock market traders, pet owners…).
For more details check the website http://www.sunhomo.com
I could not find an English version.