Comments on: Crackdown on gays Olympics related?

By: Kelly Stevens

Kelly Stevens — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 03:39:43 +0000

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.

By: Cori

Cori — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 00:32:21 +0000

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.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 11:18:01 +0000

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.