| Subject: Ｎｅｗｓ ｒｅｃｏｒｄ ｏｎ ｐrotection for sexual minorities |
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Date Posted: 05:02:59 07/04/04 Sun
HKＳｔａｎｄａｒｄ
HEADLINE: HK TEA PARTY' KICKS OFF GAY CONFERENCE
BYLINE: Dinah Gardner
BODY:
It was no street party along the outrageous lines of Sydney's gay Mardi Gras.
Neither was it the SAR's first Pride March. But it was one of the territory's biggest gay and lesbian events of the year. Last night's Sanctuary tea party'', which welcomed attendees to a major conference for Chinese gays and lesbians, was a small step in the coming out'' of Asia's World City''.
The party, billed along the lines of New York's Pier Party or Sydney's Harbour Party _ both leading gay events _ was held in the open-air amphitheatre of the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts. In the shadow of Wan Chai and Admiralty's skyscrapers, 500 men danced to club music in an arena usually reserved for exhibitions and theatre performances. The upbeat crowd cheered performers dressed in the whole YMCA repertoire, which ran the gamut from sailor boys in white PVC shorts wielding rainbow flags to a muscle-bound construction worker.
The fifth Chinese Tongzhi Conference _ tongzhi is a term used by activists to cover gays, lesbians, bisexuals and transgenders _ is expected to bring together more than 100 participants to discuss gay-related issues including mental health, sexual fetishes, HIV, legal reform, and the promotion of tongzhi culture.
Conference organiser Chung To said he expects attendees from Hong Kong, Taiwan and the Chinese diaspora including the United States, Canada, and France, as well as 50 people from the mainland to join the conference _ which started yesterday and runs until Wednesday.
While the event is a positive step for the tongzhi community, the way it has been organised is a reflection of how the community still fears a negative reaction from Hong Kong society. The conference itself is being held at an undisclosed location because _ according to the event's website _ participants need their privacy to be protected. The organisers said they wanted both the party and the conference to be low key, private affairs, without much media attention because of the need to keep attendees' sexual orientation private, and also because past conferences have experienced negative media coverage.
Conference organiser Johnny Li said while media coverage has improved over the past six years, he is still concerned that local media will portray tongzhi in a bad light and that reporters fail to address the social issues affecting sexual minorities.
Hong Kong, although by no means out of the closet, has come a long way since sex between two men was decriminalised in 1991 and when the only venues for gay men were underground and dubbed the bars with no name''. Over the past decade, dozens of gay and lesbian bars, bookshops, saunas and photo studios have opened in the territory. Straight bars now advertise themselves as gay friendly''. It has become common place to see gays and lesbians in nightlife districts such as Lan Kwai Fong and Causeway Bay.
Despite this progress, Hong Kong society remains deeply conservative. Many gays and lesbians hide their sexual orientation from their families and work colleagues for fear of rejection and discrimination. I am not confident to come out to friends unless they are open-minded,'' one 32-year-old Hong Kong lesbian said. I have not told my parents because they are conservative and very traditional. And from what they told me, they despise homosexuality.'' Hong Kong gays and lesbians are lobbying for an anti-discrimination law for sexual minorities.
The government has so far resisted legislating against discrimination based on sexual orientation, arguing that Hong Kong society is not ready for such a bill, and that public education on accepting homosexuals is the preferred option.
To, who also founded and chairs the Chi Heng Foundation, a gay advocacy and Aids education charity, said that while education was an important tool, it was not the solution.
Public education can take forever, and there will always be people who will be biased,'' To said. We are fighting for something concrete and that is legal reform. We want basic human rights protection for sexual minorities.'' To said public opinion surveys held between 1996 and 2003 by the Polytechnic University and the Tongzhi Community Joint Meeting _ a gay rights group _ showed that Hong Kong society was becoming more accepting of homosexuality. Around 70 per cent of respondents in 2003 said they would find it acceptable if their friends, classmates or colleagues were homosexual. Just over half said they would accept their siblings, teachers or high-ranking officials to be gay.
The conference, meanwhile, aims to work from within, by helping to promote the self-image of tongzhi, To said. The event will act as a network tool for the community to work together, share experiences and discuss the way forward in making tongzhi more inclusive in society.
While the hundreds of men laughed and danced and flirted in the academy's waterfront amphitheatre, comfortable that they were accepted and welcomed, Hong Kong's gay activists debated the next step for the movement at their secret location.
Source: The Standard.
JOURNAL-CODE: WHKS
LOAD-DATE: May 3, 2004
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HEADLINE: Why Hong Kong's gay vote matters
BYLINE: Reggie Ho
BODY:
Once again, Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa's policy address was short on surprises. While most people have focused on comments about reviving the economy and the constitutional review, minorities may also be looking at the part on building a "just and caring society".
As in previous policy addresses, it begins by stating the obvious, talking of how "our vision ... celebrates the rich diversity of our community", where the aim is "to create an environment in which all people get every opportunity to develop their potential".
Disconcertingly, Mr Tung appears not to think that sexual minorities should be afforded equal opportunities, as once more there is no mention of this. Last year, Mr Tung finally said that consultation on racial discrimination legislation was an "ongoing initiative" - yet he ignored sexual orientation.
Subsequently, I sent a 10-page paper to his office, outlining how he should tackle the issue. Allowing discrimination against sexual minorities in the workplace hinders productivity, while failing to take a stand sends a damning signal to society that the rights of some are more important than those of others.
I also tried to bring up the matter at a Lunar New Year cocktail reception organised by the Home Affairs Bureau at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre. As I shook Mr Tung's hand, I said: "I am a representative of a sexual minority group" and received, in return, a look that seemed somewhere between stunned and confused. Before I could go on, he was ushered away.
Despite Mr Tung's claims of wanting to "get close to people", he has steadfastly refused to draw nearer to the estimated 600,000 gays among his citizens. He could garner support from this sizeable portion of the population by simply putting some money where his mouth is. For years, the government has paid lip service to sexual rights, brushing off criticism with mere window dressing.
This failure could even jeopardise the chances of pro-government candidates in this year's Legco elections. The number of gay voters cannot be ignored. In last year's District Council elections, about one million people cast their ballots, and the turnout for the Legco elections is expected to be even higher. If roughly 10 per cent of the Hong Kong population is part of a sexual minority, then more than 100,000 gay votes will be up for grabs.
Of course, statisticians can always argue that these numbers are misleading, but in reality, gays are everywhere. While many may be reluctant to reveal their sexual orientation, there is no stopping them from making their voice heard at the polling stations.
In 2000, as a Horizons volunteer, I took part in a campaign launched by the Tongzhi Community Joint Meeting - an alliance of sexual minority groups - which lobbied for support from candidates in the Legco elections. We urged them to be part of our platform by supporting fundamental human rights for sexual minorities, as well as stating, in a questionnaire, their stance on sensitive issues such as gay marriage and adoption. The results were announced before the elections, allowing sexual-minority voters to make informed choices. An overwhelming number of candidates supported our stance, indicating that they recognised the power of gay votes.
The truth is that gay votes have increasingly become a deciding factor in elections in many countries, particularly the US. They were thought to be crucial in Bill Clinton's presidential victory in 1992, while Al Gore's loss in 2000 to George W. Bush was blamed partly on the fact that gay voters abandoned him after being upset by Mr Clinton's "don't ask, don't tell" policy for gays in the military.
Howard Dean, a prominent Democratic candidate for this year's presidential election, is favoured by many gay voters. He was the governor of Vermont and in 2000 signed into law a bill allowing same-sex couples to register their relationships, making his state the most progressive in the country for sexual rights.
Sexual rights have long been on the political agenda in Europe, too. In 2001, London began offering gay "marriages" with mayor Ken Livingstone announcing it was "a step on the road to equality". In the same year, Klaus Wowereit, the first openly gay politician in Germany, won a landslide victory in his bid to become mayor of Berlin.
All this reveals that in democracies, a pro-gay stance is seen as being positive for policymakers. Mr Tung could potentially score a number of victories by doing what is long overdue: putting forward a bill to grant sexual minorities equal rights.
Reggie Ho is a Post journalist and secretarial co-ordinator of Horizons, a listed charity with an objective to promote equal opportunities on the grounds of sexual orientation
LOAD-DATE: January 28, 2004
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