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Approximately 1,000 people stopped traffic and filled the streets in Hong Kong during the city’s first official Gay Pride parade Dec. 13. (Photo by Kin Cheung/AP)
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HOME > NEWS > WORLD NEWS
By: DEENA GUZDER & ANN BINLOT COMMENTS
 
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Hong Kong.”
The parade emphasized celebrating diversity and equality but also aired grievances with the Chinese government. Gun Lu of Beijing held a sign protesting censorship of movies and television shows that deal openly with homosexuality.
In January 2007, the Broadcasting Authority issued a warning to producers of a show called Gay Lovers for presenting a “pro-gay” view. In March, Hong Kong’s legislative council panel unanimously passed a motion demanding that the Broadcasting Authority withdraw its earlier ruling.
“Non-heterosexuals rarely appear in the media, and when they do, they are portrayed as effeminate, flamboyant, sissies, perverts or AIDS carriers,” said Dr. Ching Yau, an associate professor who teaches courses on media and gender studies at Lingnan University in Hong Kong.
Such attitudes were reflected in the fact that, though Pride Parade 2008 turned out to be a success in many ways, planning the event was no easy matter.
“While organizing the parade, we encountered many obstacles from the government, the police and a bus company,” said Wai-Wai Yeo, a member of the Hong Kong Pride 2008 Organizing Committee. The local company Citybus refused to rent a double-decker to organizers of the city’s parade because of concerns about its image.
“This was a blatant act of discrimination, especially seeing the fact that this is a legal parade and the Hong Kong police have granted a permit,” said Betty Grisoni, co-founder of a lesbian-rights organization called Les Peches, which helped organize the parade.
While significantly smaller in comparison to its counterparts in Berlin, New York City and San Francisco, Pride Parade 2008 set a precedent for what may become an annual event.
“You have to start small,” said Bill Boyle, a retiree who lives in Hong Kong and Toronto, as he watched the parade. “You want to educate the general population, not only to your presence, but also to the fact that you are just like them. You have the same right to fall in love like everyone else has and you need to have the same legal rights, and those legal rights are not here yet for people who are gay.”
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