New Government Backed Gay BarFor China

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Christian Taylor

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Mon 21st Dec, 2009 in International News

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China’s first government endorsed gay bar has opened after a three week delay, due to the huge amount of media attention initially generated by the news, which in turn put off volunteers involved with the venue.

AFP reports that the bar opened quietly on Saturday in the tourist town of Dali in the southwestern province of Yunnan.

“Our volunteers decided that the media was not paying so much attention, so they finally decided to open the bar,” Zhang Jianbo, founder of the Dali HIV/AIDS prevention and health association, the organisation behind the bar, told AFP.

The bar will be a relaxed place for gay people to meet each other, and obtain information on HIV prevention.

The bar was meant to open on World AIDS Day, which is December 1. The local government has put 120,000 yuan (A$19,780) towards the venue.

Homosexuality has been legal in China since 1997, but was officially considered a mental illness there until 2001. It’s still a sensitive topic for the Chinese. The official China Daily newspaper estimated in 2005 that there are some 30 million gay people living in China, but few are out.

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Travis de Jonk

Travis de Jonk said on the 21st Dec, 2009

It sounds like a great step forward but I find it really hard to believe that there really is a governement endorsed gay club in China. The last time I was in China (Beijing) a couple of years ago, I struggeled to find anything that resembled a gay club or bar. It took me 3 days of looking and what I found was pretty dismal.

coast_boy_21 said on the 22nd Dec, 2009

This story may sound strange to alot of people, however the communist China government holds more influence than people often realise. This is China's way of saying to its citizens that its okay to open a gay bar, Now expect that within the next few years there will be hundreds of gay bars in China. I suspect that if the Chinese government had not of backed this gay bar then no gay bars would have opened in China - just how communist countries operate.

Spooky

Spooky said on the 22nd Dec, 2009

I can’t help think this has something to do with the Chinese Governments attitude (positive) to climate change and good on them if it has. It has been my argument (over population) for too long now.

Fugly Farter

Fugly Farter said on the 22nd Dec, 2009

What is important is what gay chinese will think of this breakthrough. It maybe more likely some, not all will even try going there for fear of being watch by government officials where they risk maybe violence and persecution. I hope that is not the case and this will the first of many. But I congratulate the Chinese Government. Remember there was a government approved Gay Website opened allowing information out about the curse of HIV/AIDS, so maybe this is the next step in evolution.

blueterrace

blueterrace said on the 28th Dec, 2009

The government’s one child policy combined with a cultural preference for baby boys have resulted in 10% more males than females.
Homosexuality is the now only way out of impending social chaos.
Gay bars, web sites and the compulsory viewing of any sports featuring Speedo-wearing are the first step in the State planned homo-cultural revolution, followed by the awarding of medals to “great patriotic worker homos”.
A side benefit of the planned reforms are a shoring up of the economy due to the mass purchase of matching sheet /pillow case sets and skin care products.
Government quotas intended to redress the imbalance, require 10% of the population (or 150 million Chinese) to make the noble sacrifice and become “glorious pansy-ass gay boys”. ..Party cadres report this year’s targets have already been exceeded by 2000%.