Chinanews, Beijing, Dec. 5 - As society changes to be more liberal and diversified in the Internet era, the 30 million homosexuals in China now choose not to keep a low profile anymore. Many of them want to make their voice heard in public places. At present, 10% of gays are diagnosed as HIV positive and many will die of the AIDS disease in future. Faced with this crucial fact, these people have to stand up and fight for their own rights.
The Shanghai-based Wen Hui Bao reported that the city had opened the country’s first clinic for gays last month. Supported by the Chaoyang Chinese AIDS Volunteer Group, an organization set up for gays, the clinic has offered free medical services for more than 300 people, diagnosing sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS, syphilis, and gonorrhea for them, according to Xiao Dong, the group organizer. The Lalabar, a Beijing-based organization for lesbians, has so far organized more than 100 saloon parties, attracting thousands of people to participate. According to Xiao Dong, some 60 activity centers have been established in Chaoyang district in Beijing, where lots of gays and lesbians have gathered.
In the 1990s, China had only a couple of websites opened for gays. By 2002, however, the number had risen to more than 300. If all related blogs and QQs are included, the total number of websites opened for homosexuals are beyond calculation, said Bing Lan, who managed a website called Aibai and once successfully organized a national meeting for homosexuals.
He Jian, manager of "The Boy", an organization for gays, said that in addition to the rising number, gay organizations in China have emerged in every part of the country and every region has its own organizations to represent them. Managers of the 50 large gay organizations across the country have set up an e-mail center to exchange information. Compared with gay organizations, those for lesbians are still in their early stage. However, five large lesbian websites have been set up in Beijing, Shanghai, Chengdu, Yunnan, and Xinjiang, where the number of visitors to these websites has reached 50,000 to 60,000.
In China, many gay organizations across the country are inclined to link with each other via the Internet. Development of these organizations will follow the social trend and will not divert from the main social development trend, said Zhang Beichuan, winner of the Barry & Martin's Prize and the first professor to take interfering measures among male homosexuals on a large scale in the mainland.
