Shanghai last week held a week of Gay Pride. The first event of its kind to be held in mainland China.
wonder it's not the first, if you consider that until 1997 homosexuality was not decriminalized in this Asian country, and moreover, it was not until 2001 when this type of sexual orientation was no longer considered a mental illness.
Nor is it strange to be held in Shanghai, a city of 20 million people that prides itself on being the most modern, cosmopolitan and continental china advanced .
When organizers started putting up the event, quite rightly decided to limit it to local and private clubs and ruled out any public parade to prevent the Chinese government ruled against the holiday. And I mean pronounce ban.
According to some international media, China's official stance recently, as far as homosexuality is concerned, has been more a "Do not criticize , but not promote it. "
Even the official newspaper English, China Daily, published a cover praising the initiative and ensuring that the Gay Pride Week in Shanghai, showed the changes and developments taking place in China in the social field.
However, hours, days later, a few local government officials, were presented in different establishments were preparing to hold an act or event under of the festival, and forbade them to carry out the screening of films, photo exhibitions and plays threatening them with "severe consequences "if they continued with the program.
But removing this week passed without major incident.
I am personally confident that the local government's concern was more that this festival aims to serve as a cover to protest against any other issue, or something might happen that would cause the government "losing face" (something to be ashamed).
The China Daily published an article (which also echoes the Xinhua news agency ) in condemning the actions of local government and the attempt by censoring part of the programmed events.
In sharp contrast to this criticism is the fact that no Chinese media has publicized the festival in any way and it seems that articles in the English pages of the Chinese newspapers are more to the gallery as informative. That is, not reported to Chinese citizens, but the fact that it is in the media we read of foreigners is a way to make it appear that support the initiative.
In this country, the China Daily has 30 million homosexuals (ie 3% of the population), the issue of homosexuality is tricky, not only for the traditional Chinese society, also, but because also one of the major duties of the children is to give her parents grandchildren, something that is light years away (in the case of adoption) as set things in this life in a country which is not legally married same-sex.
also have to take into account that the one-child policy leaves most families with all their hopes on a single shoot, if not married or happens to be gay, lesbian, transgender (or lesser extent bisexual), complicates the matter further heirs.
But as always, this proves that indeed something is moving in China. This year's Gay Pride Week has been organized mainly by foreigners, behind closed doors in private places and with a little problem with the local government involved. But it was the first, and where there is a first, there's always a second. As the Chinese say: Man man zou (slowly, slowly), but it will come.
Sources: I BBC, BBC II, III BBC, AFP , The New York Times , Xinhua
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