Beijing, the gay contest cancelled by police

GaycontestChina It had to be a very important day for about thirty million Chinese homosexuals who, every day, hide themselves in the country. Today in Beijing it should have been the first gay beauty contest in China and the winner would then represent the country at the Oslo world competition. None of the eight men participants, however, won the Mr. Gay title. Because the regime does not tolerate homosexuality and blocked everything.

At the last moment there was the blitz when in the room there were already hundreds of people including gay activists, journalists, photographers and cameraman ready to capture the event. Suddenly the police burst into the Lan Club, where the gay beauty contest took place.
"We were told that we did not have the right permissions - said Michael Tsai, one of the organizers - but we hope to do it again in the future."
The event was hailed as a very important signal, not only because for the first time it would allow a Chinese to participate in the competition in Norway, but also because it could mark a partial opening of the government toward homosexuality.
Until 1997, homosexuality was considered a crime in China and it was punished by the criminal code. Only since 2001 it has been erased from the list of mental illnesses. At that time it was a great victory for 30 million people (so great is the homosexual community), who, today, are facing a new defeat. The last one it was in June 2009 when the organizers of China's first Gay Pride Festival were told to cancel two of their sessions or face "serious consequences" if they went ahead.
The Mr. Gay contest was not organized in the shadows and even New China agency told there had not been problems with the government. Perhaps the authorities were hoping that nobody would have take part to the contest. Today repression, however, is not new for this country. Even Xiao Gang, gay rights activist and one of the jurors, said: "They've already done things like this before, without giving any explanation simply saying that we were not in order. Admittedly, there is a homophobic component. But the event had no political significance."
Chinese Gays are fighting hard to see their rights recognized. Two days ago, for example, there was a marriage between two men in Chengdu. It was only a symbolic wedding but also the China Daily newspaper (which in these days has devoted several articles to the preparation of the competition) talked about this and so the news bounced far and wide in the country.
"They were making a big step. The whole world was thinking China was doing a very good thing. But now I think everybody will be disappointed," Jiang Bo, one of the competitors, said.
The organizers of the event, which was attended by more than 50 news agencies from all around the world, from AP to Reuters from Agence France Presse to CNN, wanted to send only a message to the Chinese government: the gay community "exists and is healthy, sexy and fashionable," as stated by the co-founder of Gayographic, Ben Zhang.
They did not succeed. But in a nation famous for its bans on all fronts (see the war with Google) the news that the contest has been blocked, and in front of cameras, gave a new blow to the government that is continuing its stationary policy while young people are experiencing real life.