Guardian: Gaydar sets up China networking site (April 30)

Gaydar sets up China networking site

* Jemima Kiss
* guardian.co.uk,
* Wednesday April 30 2008

This article was first published on guardian.co.uk on Wednesday April 30 2008. It was last updated at 13:42 on April 30 2008.

The gay and lesbian media company Gaydar is expanding its empire into China, the world's largest internet market, with a social networking portal that will target a gay population of more than 50 million people.

The new brand GaydarNation China will launch later this year for the gay and lesbian communities across China, Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and Malaysia, among what Gaydar describes as a new climate of "tolerance and open-mindedness towards its gay community".

"It is probably nowhere near as free as the UK and others places where legislation has really helped the cause of gay and lesbian people," said a spokeswoman.

"But in the past few years, there have been gay bars and clubs opening in the major cities and even some Pride events starting up."

Gaydar's parent company, QSoft Consulting, is launching the site as a joint venture with the web and mobile media firm GoConnect.

Go Connect has provided support for advertising on Gaydar's Australian website for six years, but will be using their existing relationships and market knowledge of China to set up GaydarNation China.

Web companies publishing inside China have to apply for an "internet content provider" licence from the government, but Gaydar says it can bypass this by hosting the site, with GoConnect, from Australia.

The spokeswoman added, though, that they did not know of any similar service existing in China.

Progress, she explained, included the dropping of homosexuality from the country's mental illnesses register in 2001 and a government health campaign around Aids prevention in the gay community, started earlier this year.

The site will run in partnership with the web and mobile advertising specialists GoConnect, building on a six-year relationship in Australia, where GoConnect provides advertising for Gaydar.com.au.

The first version of the Chinese site will include news, community information, directory listings and a dating service, and will later be expanded with travel and entertainment news.

QSoft, which supports the Sydney Mardi Gras, will also be looking at supporting similar events within China under the new brand.

United Methodists uphold homosexuality stance (April 30)

United Methodists uphold homosexuality stance
By Robin Russell*
April 30, 2008 | FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)

Delegates to the 2008 General Conference on April 30 rejected changes to the United Methodist Social Principles that would have acknowledged that church members disagree on homosexuality.

Delegates instead adopted a minority report that retained language in the denomination’s 2004 Book of Discipline describing homosexual practice as “incompatible with Christian teaching.”

The adopted wording in Paragraph 161G also states that “all persons are individuals of sacred worth, created in the image of God,” and that United Methodists are to be “welcoming, forgiving and loving one another, as Christ has loved and accepted us.”

Delegates also approved a new resolution to oppose homophobia and heterosexism, saying the church opposes “all forms of violence or discrimination based on gender, gender identity, sexual practice or sexual orientation.”
Majority and minority reports

In its majority report, the legislative committee, chaired by Frederick Brewington, New York Conference, recommended that delegates delete the incompatibility sentence and adopt the statement, “Faithful, thoughtful people who have grappled with this issue deeply disagree with one another; yet all seek a faithful witness.”

The revision also would have asked United Methodists and others “to refrain from judgment regarding homosexual persons and practices as the Spirit leads us to a new insight.”

Brewington told delegates the petition would be “an exciting and mature way forward,” calling it “an honest, yet humble approach to how we are to view one another.”

“Moving forward means we have come to a point of telling the truth. And we do not agree,” he said. “We can make the determination to move forward, and stop the hurt.”

In presenting the minority report, however, the Rev. Eddie Fox said that any United Methodist statement on human sexuality needs to be “clear, concise and faithful to biblical teaching.”

Leaving out the statement that homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching” would be confusing, especially for members of the church outside the United States, Fox said.

“I have seen and experienced the pain and the brokenness in parts of our global movement whenever our church has failed to hold fast to this essential teaching of the Holy Scripture,” he said.

The delegates’ action prompted a coalition of gay advocacy groups immediately to stage a silent vigil outside the Fort Worth Convention Center. Members of Soulforce, Affirmation, Reconciling Ministries Network and Methodist Federation for Social Action lined the entrance as delegates returned from a dinner break.
Heated debate

Earlier in the day, the petition opposing homophobia generated some heated debate from the floor when a delegate from the Democratic Republic of Congo described homosexual practice as among the things “that come from the devil.”

“Homosexuality is a practice that is incompatible with the love of God,” he said. “We love homosexual people, but we detest what they do.”

But the Rev. Judy Stevens, New York Conference, countered: “We are all aware of the violence used against homosexual people in the world today. … It’s time to stand with people whose orientation may be different from us.”

The Rev. Debbie Fisher, from the Northern Illinois Conference, told delegates about a gay relative who was beaten to the point of being unable to function as an adult. “I ask you to think about Wesley’s three rules,” she said. “Great harm was done to this man who loved God.”

The Rev. Steve Wende of the Texas Conference said the debate was painful, but cautioned delegates against changing the Discipline’s language: “If we do this as a way of making some people happy, it won’t make anyone happy.”

Will Green of the New England Conference urged delegates to adopt the committee’s recommendation. “It allows for gay and lesbian people like myself to stay in the church in a safe way that doesn’t cause us to be sacrificed for the sake of church unity,” he said.

The Rev. Kent Millard, South Indiana Conference, said the petition reflects reality among United Methodists. “The truth is, we are divided,” he said. “Let’s just acknowledge that it doesn’t say one is right and one is wrong. It just says we disagree.”

After replacing the majority report with the minority report, delegates approved it 501-417.

In other action on sexuality issues, delegates voted to:

* Add the words “sexual orientation” to an existing resolution regarding a commitment to educational opportunity regardless of gender, sexual orientation, ethnic origin or economic or social background;
* Retain language of Paragraph 341.6 in the Discipline that prohibits United Methodist ministers from conducting ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions;
* Reject a proposal to add “civil unions” to a list of basic civil liberties in Paragraph 162.H because delegates felt the language was already inclusive;
* Reject amending Paragraph 161.C to include “committed unions” in a section describing the sanctity of the marriage covenant.

*Russell is the managing editor of the United Methodist Reporter.

News media contact: Deborah White, e-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org.

United Methodist Church: Wrap-up: Assembly retains stance on homosexuality (April 30)

Wrap-up: Assembly retains stance on homosexuality

Delegates pray prior to a vote on issues related to homosexuality at the 2008 United Methodist General Conference. The assembly voted April 30 to retain the church’s position that the practice of homosexuality is “incompatible with Christian teaching.” General Conference, which meets once every four years, is the only body that speaks for The United Methodist Church.

By J. Richard Peck*
April 30, 2008 | FORT WORTH, Texas (UMNS)

After a long and emotional debate, the 2008 General Conference voted April 30 to retain statements in the Social Principles that the “United Methodist Church does not condone the practice of homosexuality and considers this practice incompatible with Christian teaching.”

The final action replaced a “majority report” from a legislative committee, which called for recognition that “faithful and thoughtful people who have grappled with this issue deeply disagree with one another; yet all seek a faithful witness.” The assembly replaced the majority report by a 517-416 vote.

The committee had voted 39-27 to ask for United Methodists and others “to refrain from judgment regarding homosexual persons and practices as the Spirit leads us to new insights.” Frederick Brewington, a layman in the New York Annual (regional) Conference who chaired the legislative committee, said the proposed statement would eliminate a sentence that has “caused festering sores among the body for three decades.”

The Rev. Eddie Fox, director of world evangelism for the World Methodist Council, led the effort to retain the current language. “My integrity will not allow me to be silent,” he said in introducing the “minority report” to keep the church’s stance unchanged. He said the Social Principles must be faithful to biblical teaching, and he suggested that any change in the language would harm the global church.

In approving the minority report, the assembly affirmed that all persons are “individuals of sacred worth created in the image of God.” Delegates also retained statements asking “families and churches not to reject or condemn lesbian and gay members and friends.”

In a separate resolution, the conference asked the United Methodist Board of Church and Society, the church’s social advocacy agency, to develop educational resources and materials on the effects of homophobia and heterosexism, the discrimination or prejudice against lesbians or gay men by heterosexual people.

The Rev. Deborah Fisher, a pastor in the Northern Illinois Conference, described how her husband’s cousin was severely beaten because he was a gay man. That hate crime reduced him to functioning on a second-grade level and he died 10 years later.

The conference also retained a rule that prohibits United Methodist clergy from conducting ceremonies that celebrate homosexual unions.

When delegates returned for the evening session, they walked by some 100 people standing in silent protest of the afternoon votes.

*Currently attending his 11th General Conference, Peck is a four-time editor of the Daily Christian Advocate now serving as an editor for United Methodist News Service during General Conference.

News media contact: Tim Tanton e-mail: newsdesk@umcom.org.

CNA: Number of new HIV cases hit record high of 422 in 2007 (April 29)

Number of new HIV cases hit record high of 422 in 2007
By Dominique Loh, Channel NewsAsia | Posted: 29 April 2008 1839 hrs

SINGAPORE: Latest figures from the Ministry of Health (MOH) showed 422 new cases of HIV infection were detected in Singapore in 2007, the highest in a single year since 1985. MOH added that 93 per cent of the cases were men.

This brings the total number of reported cases as of end-2007 to 3,482. Out of these cases, 1,534 are carriers showing no symptoms, while 804 have AIDS-related illnesses and 1,144 have died.

MOH said sexual transmission remains the main mode of HIV infection resulting in 95 per cent of the new cases. Out of the 422 new cases, 255 were infected during heterosexual sex. Meanwhile, 130 of them caught HIV through homosexual activity, a 38 per cent rise compared to 2006.

One reason for the increase in this group could be due to more screening.

29 per cent of homosexuals had their HIV detected during voluntary screening compared to just 5 per cent of heterosexuals. Action for Aids said this is a result of greater awareness arising from more intensive and targeted campaigns for men who have sex with men.

Meanwhile, infection via intravenous drug use halved from 14 cases in 2006 to seven last year.

One case saw HIV being contracted through blood transfusion overseas and is the first such reported case in the past six years.

57 per cent of all new cases reported in 2007 were Singapore citizens and permanent residents between 30 and 49 years of age. About one-eighth of the cases were between 20 and 29 years of age.

Ten people aged under 20 were diagnosed HIV positive. Of these, one was a baby infected by his mother during pregnancy.

Action for Aids said: "More young persons are having sex and at a younger age. Programmes meant for young people must address all aspects of sexual behaviour, including homosexuality and condom use, otherwise those most at risk will not be helped."

According to the ministry, 53 per cent of the new cases already had late stage HIV infection when they were diagnosed.

Only 13 per cent of new cases were detected through voluntary screening, while most had their HIV status detected while they were undergoing some form of medical care.

In its annual HIV/AIDS update, the health ministry urged those engaging in high-risk sexual behaviour to use condoms properly and go for HIV testing regularly. - CNA/vm

ST Forum: MDA high-handed in its fine on Ch5 for gay episode

April 29, 2008
MDA high-handed in its fine on Ch5 for gay episode
I AM disappointed with the Media Development Authority's imposition of
a fine on MediaCorp Channel 5 for airing an episode of a reality show
depicting a gay couple with their adopted child on Jan 13.

Gay people living together with adopted children is a reality in
countries such as the US. In censuring Channel 5 for carrying a
television programme documenting the lives of one such couple, the MDA
has denied Singaporeans the opportunity to reflect on the issue of
'non-conventional' family arrangements, and the merits or demerits of
such a phenomenon.

I am saddened by the MDA's decision to once again adopt such a
high-handed approach towards policing the media and determining what
Singapore audiences can or cannot view on the soapbox. If children are
to be protected from such issues as homosexuality, then the onus
really should be on their parents and/or guardians to do the supervision.

Adult Singaporeans, I think, have enough prudence to decide for
themselves on the feasibility and desirability of homosexuality within
the Singaporean context.

Ken Lee Jun-Jie

Herstory @ The Boiler Room (April 29)

Herstory @The Boiler Room
08 May 2008
Following the rocking debut Herstory party at The Boiler Room, we are delighted to bring you back to The Boiler Room and party like the 80s! Come decked in your favourite vintage ensemble and rekindle the retro fever. Featuring the hilarious Gino and Soul Cool, expect a night of swinging retro fun together with the hottest dancers in town. The party promises to deliver your favourite RnB pop songs, so strap on those dancing shoes and come boogie the night away with us. You know you won't want to miss this.

Collect the NEW Herstory Party Card
Never miss a great party again with this newly launched Herstory Party Card.
Specially for all Herstory Parties Supporters, collect the NEW Herstory Party Card and claim your perks.
Herstory has lined-up a year's worth of great fun and surprises for you. Collect a stamp each time you attend our Herstory party. Every 3 stamps will entitle you to a FREE entry to our party. Get all 9 stamps and you will receive a fabulous mystery gift! (It's so good that you must own it, serious!)
Party on grrls, and we’ll see you there.

Sign up for 1 Year of Herstory BLACK to receive:
Privilege online surfing @www.herstory.ws
Herstory Black Membership Card valid for 1 year
1 FREE Party Entry Pass

Don't miss Herstory Grrls Only Party happening at ZOUK and The BOILER ROOM at St James Power Station.
Whether you want to sit and chat or dance and cruise, you're guaranteed to find something you'll like at Herstory Party. See ya..

Showtime
RETRO FEVER starts at 11.15pm

Party Theme
Come decked in your favourite vintage ensemble and rekindle the retro fever. First 50 comes in retro outfits before 10pm gets FREE ENTRY.

Programme Highlights
Chillout 9pm-10pm
Showtime Retro Fever 11.15pm
Chart Topping Hip Hop and Sexy R&B Dance Music 11.45pm-2.30am (by The Boiler Room resident DJ)
Pop Hits Dance Music till 3am (by The Boiler Room resident DJ)

Drinks Promotion
One for One on all standard housepour 9pm-10pm

Admission
No Cover Charge
Applies to all members/non members
Herstory Members - $4
Non Herstory Members - $8
Entry for men - Subject to Approval at Door ($12)
POLICY : Mainly womyn with men as guests

Table Reservations
Email: party@herstory.ws
SMS: +65 91700517

LOCATION
St James Power Station
3 Sentosa Gateway
Singapore 098544

MRT / BUS
Harbour Front Station

OPENING HOUR
9pm - 3am
Every 2nd Thursday monthly.


Collect the NEW Herstory Party Card
Never miss a great party again with this newly launched Herstory Party Card.
Specially for all Herstory Parties Supporters, collect the NEW Herstory Party Card and claim your perks.
Herstory has lined-up a year's worth of great fun and surprises for you. Collect a stamp each time you attend our Herstory party. Every 3 stamps will entitle you to a FREE entry to our party. Get all 9 stamps and you will receive a fabulous mystery gift! (It's so good that you must own it, serious!)
Party on grrls, and we'll see you there.

Herstory Monthly Parties, Calendar of Events

DATE

VENUE
10 APR
THE BOILER ROOM, St James Power Station
08 MAY
THE BOILER ROOM, St James Power Station
12 JUN
ZOUK
10 JUL
ZOUK
14 AUG
THE BOILER ROOM, St James Power Station
11 SEP
ZOUK
09 OCT
THE BOILER ROOM, St James Power Station
13 NOV
THE BOILER ROOM, St James Power Station
11 DEC
ZOUK



Femme Quest 2008
The highly anticipated event of the year in the grrls calendar. Watch 10 gorgeous grrls battle it out at ZOUK. Preview on 12th June and Finals on 10th July. We promise you an exciting event with lots of eye candies and entertainment. More details coming your way.

ST Forum: Right decision to fine MediaCorp over gay couple (April 28)

April 28, 2008
Right decision to fine MediaCorp over gay couple
I REFER to the Media Development Authority (MDA) decision against
MediaCorp in the article last Thursday, 'MediaCorp fined for airing
show featuring gay couple'.

I agree with and applaud MDA's decision to fine MediaCorp for airing a
show featuring a gay couple on television. In airing the show,
MediaCorp is tacitly promoting a gay lifestyle. The act of airing such
a show which promotes a gay (and alternative) lifestyle is detrimental
to the common good, as well as societal values.

The media should not endorsing or promote the gay lifestyle and should
not describe a gay couple as a 'family unit'. To do so is
irresponsible and may lead to erosion of values and breakdown of the
traditional family unit (father, mother and children). MDA must step
in to ensure compliance and observance of the law and guidelines,
which have been laid down to ensure good values and morals are upheld
in society.

Jacelyn Chan (Ms)

FCC Sunday Service - Speaker: Clarence Singam (April 27)

SUNDAY SERVICE (ENGLISH)
27 Apr 2008 (Thu) - 10.30am
FCC Main Hall
56 Geylang Lor 23
Level 3, Century Technology Building
All are welcome!

Speaker
CLARENCE SINGAM
Series on the Psalms
------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- ----

Worship Leader - VICTOR LEE
Vocals - KENNY ONG, KOK WEI HO
Keyboards - GREG
Guitars - NATHAN GOH
Strings - WILLY YEO
Drums - JIMMY TAN
Prayer - SUSAN TANG
Communion - PWEE KENG HOCK
Service Pastor - JORG DIETZEL
Click here for instructions on how to get to church


The FREE COMMUNITY CHURCH ( http://www.freecomc hurch.org/ ) is a congregation of diverse individuals and families gathering to worship and grow as a Christian community. Our vision is to plant and nurture Christ centred cell group communities which are relevant to the twenty-first century. We are an inclusive Church who desire to develop a vibrant heart relationship with God balanced by a deep thinking mind relationship with the Bible. We don't believe in easy pat answers to life's challenging questions but we believe in a great and loving God who can transcend all challenges and questions.

The FREE COMMUNITY CHURCH affirms the dignity of every human being, their families and communities while recognising that we each live imperfect lives in imperfect worlds. We thus need to rely totally on the grace of God through Jesus Christ. The FREE COMMUNITY CHURCH welcomes ALL people regardless of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or economic status. We would love to have you as a part of our extended family.

If you have any questions about FREE COMMUNITY CHURCH, our ministries or our acitvities, please do not hesitate to drop us an email at info@freecomchurch. org.

Women's Nite 26th April 2008: Legally Yours

Ever wondered what kind of property you can buy as a single or with
your same-sex partner in Singapore? How should you protect your
assets? And what should you do if an employer discriminates against
you for being gay?

Get these and more questions answered this Women's Nite as lawyer
Sunita Sonya Parhar goes through the ins and outs of Singapore's legal
system and examines how it applies to gay women.

Sunita is a practising lawyer who was called to the UK Bar (Lincoln's
Inn) in 1995, and the Singapore Bar in 1997. Her varied experience
includes areas such as commercial law, landlord-tenant disputes,
employer-employee disputes, defamation, breaches of contract, disputes
regarding the sale of goods, construction law, and family and probate
law.

***

Women's Nite April 2008
Saturday 26th April, 7pm
Venue (in Singapore) will be disclosed upon registration.

Limited to 30 invites, so please register with your full name, contact
number, the full name/s of your guests, if any, and the type of halal
food or drink you would be contributing to the potluck.

Although Women's Nite is open to women of all orientations, please let
us know if you are straight, or are bringing along straight guests, so
that we can be sensitive to the needs of all women present.

Please send your details to women.snite@gmail.com [women dot snite at
gmail dot com]

Registration closes at midnight 25th April 2008

***

About Women's Nite

Women's Nite provides a safe, neutral and alcohol-free space for
lesbians and bisexual women in Singapore to discuss the issues
relevant to their lives.

The event, held on the last Saturday of every month, was started in
December 2003. Over a potluck dinner, we hold discussions on wide
ranging topics like self acceptance, homophobia, relationships and
identity. We also invite special guests to field questions on legal
rights and sexual health, and conduct art and dance therapy nights.

To check out the past months' events, or find out more, please go to
http://women_snite.livejournal.com
To get email updates on each month's event, please visit
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/women_ snite/ to join our mailing list.

As far as possible, we would like to keep this space commercial free.
To advertise events and projects, please email us at
women.snite@gmail.com

Guardian: Singapore TV fined for showing gay couple (April 25)

Singapore TV fined for showing gay couple

* Ian MacKinnon, south-east Asia correspondent
* guardian.co.uk,
* Friday April 25 2008

Even as Singapore tries to shed its straight-laced image, one facet of life remains beyond the pale: homosexuality on television.

The city state's government-owned broadcaster was fined £5,500 for airing a lifestyle programme featuring a gay couple with their adopted baby.

The state regulator, the Media Development Authority, said the January 13 episode of the home decor show, Find and Design, "normalises and promotes a gay lifestyle".

It followed the hit programme's host as he helped the gay couple transform their games room into a nursery for their new baby, which was shown in several scenes.

The presenter congratulated them on their "unconventional family setup", a breach of the free-to-air TV Code that bans shows that "promote, justify or glamorise gay lifestyles".

The offence was compounded by the fact that it was aired at 7.30am on a Sunday, deemed inappropriate as it fell within family viewing hours.

It was the second breach of the code by MediaCorp TV. Last year it was fined £1,700 for depicting a kissing scene between two lesbians in the drama series, Without a Trace.

Earlier this month the authority fined cable television operator StarHub £3,500 for screening an advert that showed two women kissing.

Homosexuality is still illegal in Singapore. But in October last year the government declared that private, consensual, adult homosexual sex would no longer be prosecuted.

However, the offence remains on the statute book and anyone convicted of "an act of gross indecency" could face up to two years in jail.

There have few prosecutions for gay sex, though the authorities have banned homosexual festivals and censored films, not wishing to be seen to condone it as a lifestyle choice.

Before 2003, homosexuals were barred from "sensitive positions" in Singapore's civil service, a provision removed by the former prime minister, Goh Chok Tong.

Todayonline: Channel 5 fined $15k by MDA

Channel 5 fined $15k by MDA

Friday • April 25, 2008

THE Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore has fined MediaCorp TV Channel 5 $15,000, the authority said in a statement on its website yesterday.

On Jan 13 at 7.30am, the station had aired an episode of an acquired home and decor series, "Find and Design". The episode featured a gay couple wanting to transform their game room into a new nursery for their adopted baby.

The authority said the episode had contained scenes of the couple with their baby.

It also featured "the presenter's congratulations and acknowledgement of them as a family unit in a way which normalises their gay lifestyle and unconventional family setup".

This was in breach of the Free-to-Air TV Programme Code, which disallows programmes that promote, justify or glamourise gay lifestyles.

The MDA said it consulted the Programme Advisory Committee for English Programmes, which felt that the programme was "inappropriate" for its Sunday morning timeslot as this was "within family viewing hours".

Taking such considerations into account — and the fact that this was a second breach by MediaCorp TV — the MDA decided on the fine.

Mr Kenneth Liang, executive vice president of TV programming and production, said: "We accept the reasons for the fine. Our relationship with MDA is a dynamic one, just as regulations are not static as well. They change with the changing values of society.

"If we have overstepped the boundary this time, at least we now know where the OB marker is."

Last year, the broadcaster was fined $5,000 for airing a kissing scene between two lesbians in an episode of drama series "Without a Trace".

Earlier this month, the MDA fined StarHub Cable Vision $10,000 for airing a commercial that showed two lesbians kissing.

Bernama.com: Singapore TV Channel Fined for Promoting Gay Lifestyle (April 25)

April 25, 2008 12:57 PM

Singapore TV Channel Fined For Promoting Gay Lifestyle

By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, April 25 (Bernama) - A Singapore government-owned local television channel has been fined $15,000 by the city-state broadcasting authority for airing a television episode that promoted gay lifestyle.

Singapore's Media Development Authority (MDA) said the episode was aired in an acquired home and decor "Find and Design" series programme on Jan 13.

The episode showed the host helping a gay couple to transform their game room into a new nursery for their adopted baby, MDA said in a statement last night.

MDA said the episode contained several scenes of the gay couple with their baby as well as the presenter's congratulations and acknowledgement of them as a family unit in a way which normalised their gay lifestyle and unconventional family setup.

It said this was in breach of the Free-to-Air TV Programme Code which disallowed programmes that promote, justify or glamourise gay lifestyles.

MDA said it consulted the Programme Advisory Committee for English Programmes (PACE) and the Committee was also of the view that a gay relationship should not be presented as an acceptable family unit.

As the programme was shown on a Sunday morning, PACE felt that it was inappropriate as such a timeslot was within family viewing hours, MDA added.

Last month, MDA fined a local cable television $10,000 for showing a song commercial that depicted lesbian kissing scenes.

-- BERNAMA

AFP: Singapore TV fined for gay scenes (April 25)

Singapore TV fined for gay scenes

16 hours ago

SINGAPORE (AFP) — A Singapore television channel has been fined 15,000 Singapore dollars (11,200 US) for promoting a gay lifestyle, the media regulator said.

MediaCorp TV Channel 5 was fined for an episode of a home decor series, "Find and Design", which contained several scenes of a gay couple with their baby, the Media Development Authority said in a statement issued late Thursday.

In the episode concerned MDA said the host of the show helped a gay couple transform their room into a new nursery for their adopted baby and congratulated and acknowledged them as a family unit.

The episode, which aired in January, "normalises their gay lifestyle and unconventional family setup", MDA said.

This was in breach of the code governing programmes which are available free over the air, it said. The code disallows programmes that promote, justify or glamorise gay lifestyles.

Singapore, Southeast Asia's most advanced economy, maintains strict censorship laws.

Earlier this month, MDA fined a cable television operator 10,000 dollars for broadcasting an advertisement featuring lesbian kissing.

As part of major revisions of the Penal Code approved by parliament last year, Singapore legalised oral and anal sex between heterosexual couples but retained a law that criminalises intercourse between gay men.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong favoured the retention of the law, saying Singapore remains a conservative society -- with the traditional family as its main building block -- and homosexuals cannot set the tone for the mainstream.

Abolishing the law could "send the wrong signal" and push gay activists to ask for more concessions, such as same-sex marriage and parenting, Lee said.

Queerty: More Anti-Gay Media Fines in Singapore (April 24)

More Anti-Gay Media Fines In Singapore

Singapore’s media police have been all about the queer crackdown.

Cable company StarHub found itself fined earlier this month after airing a music video featuring a lesbian kiss. The nation-state’s Media Authority wagged its finger at StarHub, saying the showing was “in breach of the TV advertising guidelines, which disallows advertisements that condone homosexuality.”

Now another channel has been fined $11,000 for broadcasting an episode of fix-it-up show, “Find and Design,” which included a gay couple looking to refashion a game room into a nursery for their freshly adopted baby.

Again, officials claim the offending network illegally promoted gay ways.

The Advocate: A Muslim First (April 23)

April 23, 2008
A Muslim First
Filmmaker Parvez Sharma gives a first-person account of making his new documentary, A Jihad for Love, about homosexuality in the Islamic faith and how his commitment to his faith and his desire to show the world another side of Islam brought him to his own jihad.

As the director of A Jihad for Love -- the world's first documentary to take a close look at Islam and homosexuality -- I am coming out as a Muslim man. My gay identity is secondary. Queer cinema is filled with stories of gays and lesbians revealing their sexuality, but my film is about people revealing their religion. With this film, the story of a 1,428-year-old religion is told by its most unlikely storytellers -- gay and lesbian Muslims.

Making this film and finding subjects who would be willing to share their stories with me was a "jihad" (struggle) in itself. In many of the cases it took me years to convince the subjects to participate, and I had to build relationships of mutual trust with them. What made it easier and certainly worth the challenge was that I was a Muslim like my subjects and we had much in common because of the backgrounds we came from. The entire process took six years of my life -- and these six years I cherish dearly for everything they taught me, not just about my own Islam but of the universal jihad, or struggle, to belong.

This film tries to construct the first real and comprehensive image of these unlikely creatures -- to be P.C., gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, and queer Muslims -- and it is forcing many audiences to realize that these terms are a Western construct. Let me be clear: None of these categories means anything to many of my friends living in Cairo or Islamabad. If anything, the languages they speak -- Farsi, Arabic, Urdu, Punjabi, and Bengali -- have very few words of affirmation to describe the "odd" and "unnatural" behaviors, so to speak, that we indulge in. The cinematic representation of these complex identities therefore has come with many of the challenges of almost developing a new language.

It is a little-known fact that a sexual revolution of immense proportions came to the earliest Muslims, some 1,300 years before the West had even "thunk" it. This promise of equal gender rights and, unlike in the Bible, the stress on sex as not just reproductive but also enjoyable within the confines of marriage have all but been lost in the rhetoric spewing from loudspeakers perched on masjids (mosques) in Riyadh, Marrakech, and Islamabad. The same Islam that has for centuries not only tolerated but also openly celebrated homosexuality is today used to justify a state-sanctioned program against gay men in Egypt -- America's "enlightened" friend in the Middle East.

When in New York I often wonder how the lives of the subjects in this film would strike the consciousness of, for example, a Chelsea boy. Traveling to more than 10 countries with the film in the last few months has made me wonder about the absence of religion within "gay" lives. Clearly, spirituality can provide a kind of freedom. But it is also clear that for too many of us religion has not remained an option.

For the last six years, I have found myself immersed in the souls and spirits of the people who have shared their lives and their most private moments with my camera. Sometimes when I look at the footage of the gay Iranian refugees who have almost no material or spiritual support or the gay man who was tortured in an Egyptian prison for two years, I feel a tremendous disconnect. Growing up in worlds not very dissimilar to theirs, I know I understand and can empathize -- but knowing that I sit in America or in Europe working in the film world, I feel a sense of tremendous emptiness. This disconnect is similar to what a filmmaker feels when real people and real relationships turn into two-dimensional characters in a movie.

Sometimes in these worlds, traveling with my American Jewish producer and others, I feel we could be at the edge of some kind of revolution within Islam. As a Muslim, I know that this could be my jihad. But then the disconnects come and haunt me at night. Yet whenever the gay imam in the film, Muhsin, or the Egyptian refugee, Mazen, join us, the dots all seem to connect very well.

For any filmmaker who sets out to make a work that is intensely personal, the process is emotionally overwhelming. As a gay Muslim myself, I had a sense of shared struggle and shared pain with all of the subjects. While the camera was on (I was the primary camera operator) there was always an exchange of emotion between me and them. It was my hope that our mutual histories, cultures, and struggles would translate to the screen. I cannot think of another way of working when you are examining a community where the silence has been so loud and so overwhelming.

I never sought government permission in any of the countries where I filmed because I knew it would not have been granted. What was always foremost in my mind was the safety of these beautiful human beings, these devout Muslims whose lives I was documenting. I took extreme precautions to make sure that the tapes I shot were always safe. I would always record "tourist-like" footage at the beginning and end of a tape, and I would always store the tapes in my check-in baggage, with a prayer. Security staff at airports in fundamentalist regimes (the United States being a good example at this time) are not the friendliest people. I did have a difficult time in some countries because filming such profound human stories is hard for anyone, but at the same time I knew that I was filming while I was essentially there as a tourist. The countries that were easiest to film in were Turkey and of course India, my home country. In both these nations, which have significant Muslim populations (India has the second-largest Muslim population in the world, after Indonesia, and Turkey is 99% Muslim), the attitudes toward homosexuality are definitely more open than in others, and people accept the idea that there is a spectrum of human sexuality.

One personal challenge in making this film was to keep my deep respect for and belief in my faith paramount. Sharing some of the stories of condemnation, of isolation, of pain, would make it easy to issue a blanket critique of Islam. I knew that as a Muslim I could not allow myself to fall into the trap of being an apologist for my faith, joining the bandwagon of post-9/11 Islamophobes. I knew that I had to be a defender of the faith as a Muslim filmmaker and at the same time engage in a critique of what I knew was wrong in orthodox Islam's condemnation of homosexuality. I have always said that I made this film with a Muslim lens, as a Muslim filmmaker who also happens to be gay. Too many films about Islam right now are made by Western, non-Muslim filmmakers, which while commendable is also problematic -- in a world that now largely perceives Islam as a problematic monolith. Currently our religion is under attack from within (from an extremist fringe) and from without (by governments and media only focusing on the violence). Islam needs us to step out as Muslim artists and take back the discussion of our faith.

Our last battles of acceptance remain to be fought on the front lines of religion. With our "jihad for love" we bring Islam out of the closet.

Pelangi Pride Centre Re-Opens on 19 April

Dear all

Just a gentle reminder that Pelangi Pride Centre re-opens in our new
home - 54 Rowell Road (in Little India), TODAY (19 April) from 4-8pm

For directions on how to get to the new PPC:

Come into Hindoo Road from Jalan Besar. Look for tall HDB block 639 at
the end of the road. Corner terrace house with grapevines growing.
Come in from the back door.

Take care and see you!
Pelangi Pride Centre
pelangipridecentre at yahoo dot com

Time: Migratory Patterns (April 17)

Thursday, Apr. 17, 2008
Migratory Patterns
By Neel Chowdhury

The stories of Asian immigration to America have formed a genre of their own. In the novels of Bharati Mukherjee or Amy Tan (to take two of its superstar practitioners), or in the works of lesser writers, the narrative often goes something like this: an immigrant family lands in America, pursuing economic or political freedom. Its members are dogged by battles to secure permanent residency and jobs commensurate with their sense of self-worth. As these take place, nostalgia builds for Asian traditions, from which the family's younger generations have begun to drift. Cross-cultural and cross-generational misunderstandings multiply, but at the novel's denouement the family learns to ambivalently accept their new country.

It's neither an unsatisfying nor inaccurate story, but these days it sounds old-fashioned because globalization is rewriting the tale. Asians are still emigrating to America, but many are returning to Asia, pursuing the same wealth and advancement that America once exclusively offered. In fact, it's increasingly difficult to tell Old and New Worlds apart. With their coffee chains and street-fashion boutiques, malls in Mumbai and Beijing are polished facsimiles of those in the U.S., and when half the world is tuned into reruns of Friends, or The Simpsons, who actually suffers from culture shock anymore?

Singapore-born and San Francisco-based writer Wena Poon is nevertheless banking on the continuing appeal of émigré literature with a debut collection of short stories that takes as its theme the Singaporean diaspora. Given that the latter has been so infrequently explored, Lions in Winter has a greater chance of being fresh than a comparable Chinese or Indian work — but instead, it lapses, at least in part, into the clichés that bedevil stories of Asian deracination.

Consider the story "Addiction," about a gay Singaporean student in London named Alistair. Parts of it are smartly observed, but structurally Poon draws too crude a contrast between London and Singapore to power her plot of a young man's journey of self-discovery. Alistair's parents are caricatured embodiments of lowbrow, materialist Asia. Because she uses the abbreviation k to denote a thousand, we are asked to believe that Alistair's mother has "a barbaric attitude towards money — reducing something vast to a small, inconsequential syllable." His father makes bawdy comments about the breasts of "these Western women" while Alistair, rather prissily, feels his ears burn. London, on the other hand, is portrayed as a liberal haven, where artists are allowed to pursue their dreams with few worries of generating an income or conforming to social norms. If only that were the case.

Then there's Canada. Sylvie, the Singaporean daughter of an immigrant family, adores her new Canadian school uniform because it is "of higher quality ... nothing like the scratchy, polyester-mix affairs" of Singapore, which "dumb you down." Meanwhile her grandfather, a literary man, apparently thinks of Sylvie's Caucasian classmates as "big, strong, beefy ... like female Goliaths." In a crowd of them, we are told, an Asian student stands out like a "gazelle among elephants." But do Asian intellectuals really see Caucasian children this way? Such stereotyping may have occurred decades ago (although there is plenty of evidence to show that Western children were thought of as pretty), but these days, pretending that white schoolgirls are "female Goliaths" in the eyes of educated Asians is like claiming that well-read white people think of Asian schoolgirls as dainty-footed China dolls — a naive and anachronistic image.

Instead, Poon's stories succeed when she examines Singapore on its own terms. Take the love with which she describes a Singaporean-Chinese cook in Queens: "In Singapore, there were men like him who sat around hawker centers at night over a Guinness Stout and a cigarette — men who wore open-necked shirts and small gold chains around their neck. They would sit for hours at a time, then grunt an observation, tap the cigarette on the ashtray and then shake their heads." Images like this make the reader want to read Poon on Singapore, not London, Toronto or New York City.

In fact, by far the best story in the collection is about the very Singaporean dilemma of national service. So that their male scions may escape this obligation, some Singaporean families flee the country — like the family of Eddie in "Those Who Serve, Those Who Do Not." In this story, as in life, an absconder like Eddie can't return to Singapore without facing prosecution. But his sister Joanne returns from her comfortable, pseudo exile in Sydney to visit Uncle Sam and cousin Peter. They did not have the means of escape and instead relied on a powerfully Singaporean stoicism to get them through military duty, embodying qualities Joanne's family too blithely left behind. "She looked at the thousands of HDB [Housing & Development Board] homes that fanned out from either side of Sam's tiny flat," Poon writes. "She suddenly felt her heart open. These were the people who will protect the country, she thought ... Against such a solid breakwater the waves of cynicism would crash, but would fail." Here the exile returns to illuminate an intimate part of Singapore, and does so quite beautifully. One only hopes that Poon herself will make the return journey some day.

Hot Gay News: Singapore bans documentary about gay muslims from film festival (April 11)

Singapore bans documentary about gay muslims from film festival

A Jihad for Love was filmed over five years and in nine languages by India-born and raised director Parvez Sharma who travelled the world from India to Pakistan, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, South Africa and France to interview devout Muslims who are lesbian, gay or transgender to speak about their faith and their sexuality. In the film, a gay South African imam argues that homosexuality is not banned while another imam rebuts his view.

According to traditional interpretations of the Quran, homosexuality is strictly forbidden and officially carries the death penalty in some Muslim or Muslim dominant countries including Iran, Saudi-Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Mauritania, Sudan and Nigeria.

Three other documentaries were banned from the censors: Arabs And Terrorism and David The Tolhildan, were “disallowed on account of their sympathetic portrayal of organisations deemed terrorist organisations by many countries;” while Bakushi, a film on a Japanese form of sexual bondage involving elaborate rope patterns was disallowed because it “normalises unnatural fetishes and behaviour,”

ABC: Singapore TV operator fined over lesbian kiss (April 10)

Singapore TV operator fined over lesbian kiss

Updated Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:23am AEST

A cable television operator in Singapore has been fined over $US7,000 for broadcasting an advertisement featuring lesbian kissing.

Singapore's media regulator says an advert promoting a song by Mandarin pop singer Olivia Yan "romanticised scenes of two girls kissing... and it portrayed the relationship as acceptable."

The Media Development Authority says the scenes, aired on the MTV Mandarin channel by StarHub Cable Vision, were in breach of television advertising guidelines, which ban commercials condoning homosexuality.

StarHub says it is disappointed with the watchdog's decision but says it understands the concern and will work closely with partners to ensure broadcasting guidelines are adhered to.

ST Life!: StarHub fined for lesbian video (April 10)

April 10, 2008

StarHub fined for lesbian video
CABLE television operator StarHub Cable Vision (SCV) has been fined
$10,000 for airing a music video that showed two women kissing for
about nine seconds.

The clip for Sha Hai Zi (Silly Child) by Mandarin pop singer Olivia
Yan aired over MTV Mandarin Channel on Nov 26 and 28 last year. It
shows Yan kissing and embracing actress Pei Lin.

According to the Taipei Times, Pei has been getting kudos from
netizens for her portrayal of a lesbian in the music video, supposedly
a first for Taiwan.

The Media Development Authority (MDA) said in a statement on its
website yesterday that 'romanticised scenes of two girls kissing were
shown and it portrayed the relationship as acceptable'.

The statement added: 'This is in breach of the TV advertising
guidelines, which disallows advertisements that condone homosexuality.'

MTV Mandarin had classified the music video as a commercial for Olivia
Yan's album.

MDA had consulted the Advisory Committee for Chinese Programmes and
the committee agreed that the clip had promoted lesbianism as
'acceptable and romantic'.

Ms Caitlin Fua, StarHub's corporate communications manager, responded:
'We are disappointed with MDA's decision to impose the penalty.'

SCV informed MTV to stop airing the music video as soon as the matter
was brought to its attention by the MDA.

She added, however, that SCV understood MDA's concern and will work
with its content partners to ensure that local broadcasting guidelines
are adhered to.

ST: SCV fined for airing lesbian kiss in music ad (April 9)

April 9, 2008
SCV fined for airing lesbian kiss in music ad

CABLE television operator StarHub Cable Vision (SCV) has been fined $10,000 for airing a music video that showed two women kissing for about nine seconds.

The clip for Sha Hai Zi (Silly Child) by Mandarin pop singer Olivia Yan aired over MTV Mandarin Channel on Nov 26 and 28 last year. It shows Yan kissing and embracing actress Pei Lin.

According to the Taipei Times, Pei has been getting kudos from netizens for her portrayal of a lesbian in the music video, supposedly a first for Taiwan.

The Media Development Authority (MDA) said in a statement on its Web site on Wednesday that 'romanticised scenes of two girls kissing were shown and it portrayed the relationship as acceptable'.

The statement added: 'This is in breach of the TV advertising guidelines, which disallows advertisements that condone homosexuality.'

MTV Mandarin had classified the music video as a commercial for Olivia Yan's album.

MDA had consulted the Advisory Committee for Chinese Programmes and the committee agreed that the clip had promoted lesbianism as 'acceptable and romantic'.

Caitlin Fua, StarHub's Corporate Communications Manager responded: 'We are disappointed with MDA's decision to impose the penalty.'

She added however that SCV understood MDA's concern and will work with their content partners to ensure that local broadcasting guidelines are adhered to.

The Canadian Press: Singapore fines cable TV operator for showing commercial with lesbians kissing (April 9)

Singapore fines cable TV operator for showing commercial with lesbians kissing

Apr 9, 2008

SINGAPORE — Singapore's cable television operator has been fined for airing a commercial that showed lesbians kissing.

The Media Development Authority says in a statement on its website that it has fined StarHub Cable Vision $7,200 for airing the commercial in November.

The commercial, which was to promote a song by Mandarin pop singer Olivia Yan, was aired on MTV's Mandarin-language channel, the media regulator said.

The statement says that romanticized scenes of two girls kissing, calling it "a breach of the TV advertising guidelines, which disallows advertisements that condone homosexuality."

StarHub Cable Vision expressed disappointment at the authority's decision to impose a fine but said it would follow broadcasting rules.

Under Singapore law, gay sex is deemed "an act of gross indecency," punishable by a maximum of two years in jail.

Despite the official ban on gay sex, there have been few prosecutions.

ST Life!: Love ladies (April 6)

April 6, 2008
Love ladies

A documentary about three lesbians has become a quiet hit at the
Singapore International Film Festival
By Deepika Shetty

When Su-Lin Ngiam posted an online call in 2006 asking lesbians to
share their experiences for a documentary she wanted to make, no one
came forward.

'It shows there is a lot of fear when it comes to talking about same
sex relationships in public,' says the theological studies student.

Given the lack of response from the community, Ngiam, 34, turned to
her friends and three agreed to talk on camera.

MsSabrina Renee Chong, 40, a freelance events consultant and
photographer, MsAmanda Lee, 24, a student, and MsGea Swee Jean, 24, a
business & IT marketing professional are featured in the 65-minute
documentary, Women Who Love Women: Conversations In Singapore.

The documentary, which has an R21 rating, has proven to be a small hit
at the Singapore International Film Festival. Four screenings have
already sold out and tickets to the fifth screening today are selling
fast.

The documentary is being screened at Sinema, Old School, in Mount
Sophia, which has a seating capacity of 130.

Mr Philip Cheah, 50, the festival director, says the documentary has
made an impact because 'you see people as themselves. The fact that
these women have come such a long way in realising their dreams is
moving people and encouraging them to watch it.'

Director Lim Mayling, 28, an events coordinator who studied
film-making, says she is surprised at the warm response. The
documentary was screened privately last year at the Pelangi Pride
Centre in Tanjong Pagar.

She says she shot the three women talking about their lives and the
'talking heads'' technique goes against what she was taught in her
media studies course at the University of Buffalo in the United States.

'But in this case, it works, it is the story of their lives and my
idea was to get it across as honestly as I could.'

Ms Chong says she agreed to appear in the documentary because she
wants to share her experience with other people who are in the same
situation.

'When I was growing up, the Internet was non-existent, there were
hardly any support groups, you couldn't come clean.'

She says that she never came out to her family 'officially'. Her
parents split up when she was two years old and she was brought up by
her grandmother and other relatives. Her father later died and her
mother is in Canada.

'My grandmother knew about my sexual orientation but we never talked
about it. But she and my relatives accepted it.'

Her girlfriend, a 30-year-old producer, joins her family at family events.

Ms Lee, an undergraduate at the Australian National University,
Canberra, had a harder time with her family when she told her mother
that she is gay.

There were 'a lot of tears, angry words' and her mother, an office
administrator, refused to accept her sexual orientation.

'Our relationship deteriorated because I could not share an important
part of my life with her.''

But her mother has since come around and comforted her when one of her
relationships failed, she says.

The third woman in the documentary, Ms Gea, declined to be interviewed.

Ms Chong thinks that the climate has become more tolerant of gay
people in recent years. Government leaders have spoken of treating
homosexuals like everybody else and employing them in the civil
service. She says: 'People don't fall backwards when they see gay
women holding hands.'

But the biggest comfort for her has been the acceptance of her family.

'When my grandmother passed away when I was in my late 20s, my
girlfriend and I were by her side. I think what was important for me
was the fact that my grandmother loved me unconditionally through all
of it.'

deepikas@sph.com.sg

Women Who Love Women: Conversations In Singapore is showing at the
Singapore International Film Festival. For details, visit
www.filmfest.org.sg

'When my grandmother passed away, my girlfriend and I were by her
side. I think what was important for me was the fact that my
grandmother loved me unconditionally through all of it.'
MS SABRINA RENEE CHONG

ST: Transgender man tells Oprah of 'miracle child' (April 5)

April 5, 2008
Transgender man tells Oprah of 'miracle child'
A TRANSGENDER man who is six months pregnant said in the Oprah Winfrey
Show that he always wanted to have a child and he considered his
pregnancy a miracle.

'It's not a male or female desire to have a child. It's a human
desire,' a thinly bearded Thomas Beatie said on Thursday. 'I have a
very stable male identity,' he added, saying that pregnancy neither
defines him nor makes him feel feminine.

Mr Beatie, 34, who lives in Oregon, was born a woman but decided to
become a man 10 years ago. He began taking testosterone treatments and
had breast surgery to remove glands and flatten his chest.

'I opted not to do anything with my reproductive organs because I
wanted to have a child one day,' he said.

His wife of five years, Nancy, said she inseminated him with a syringe
using sperm purchased from a bank.

She also appeared on the show, saying the couple's roles will not
change once the baby is born. 'He's going to be the father and I'm
going to be the mother,' she said. Their marriage is recognised under law.

'I can't believe she's inside me,' Mr Beatie said as he was being
filmed watching an ultrasound image of his daughter. 'We see her as
our little miracle.'

In 1999, fellow American Matt Rice gave birth to son Blake. Mr Rice
and his partner, both transgender males, decided to become parents by
using sperm donors after side effects caused Mr Rice to stop taking
testosterone for a few years, the Daily Mirror reported.

REUTERS

AFP: Singapore censors say four films banned from film festival (April 4)

Singapore censors say four films banned from film festival

Apr 4, 2008

SINGAPORE (AFP) — Four film documentaries, including one by a gay Muslim and another about terrorism, have been banned from being shown at Singapore's film festival, the censor board said Saturday.

It said the films "exceed the Film Classification Guidelines".

Board of Film Censors chairman Amy Chua said "Arabs and Terrorism" and another film, "David the Tolhildan", were "disallowed on account of their sympathetic portrayal of organisations deemed terrorist organisations by many countries."

Since independence in 1965, Singapore has grown from an underdeveloped country to an Asian economic powerhouse. But critics say this has come at a price, in the form of restrictions on freedom of speech and political activity.

According to the film festival programme, "Arabs and Terrorism" presents a dialogue between right-wing American policymakers and Middle Eastern political factions.

"David the Tolhildan" is about a Swiss man who joins the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the festival said. The PKK, listed as a terrorist group by much of the international community, has been fighting for self-rule in southeastern Turkey.

Another rejected film, "A Jihad for Love" by gay Muslim film-maker Parvez Sharma, is about homosexual people living within Muslim communities, the festival said. In a statement, Chua said the film was disallowed because of "the sensitive nature of the subject".

Japanese documentary Bakushi, which is about bondage, also failed to get classification because it "normalises unnatural fetishes and behaviour", Chua said.

Festival officials could not be reached for comment but a notice on the its website said "A Jihad for Love" and "Arabs and Terrorism" had been "disallowed". It did not elaborate but said "Arabs and Terrorism" had been set for a sold-out screening on Saturday.

Singapore's government says the city-state has been liberalising but maintains a conservative core.

About 200 films have been classified for the festival which runs until April 14, Chua said.

ST Online Forum: Gays: Be careful of double standards (April 3)

Straits Times Online Forum, April 3, 2008

Gays: Be careful of double standards

I REFER to last Saturday's Science section article by
Ms Chang Ai-Lien, 'MM's reassuring comments seal
researcher's move here'. The article reports that
Professor Kerry Sieh, who is gay, has recently
accepted to work at the region's biggest earth
observatory because of the increased tolerance of gay
people in Singapore. Also cited are Minister Mentor
Lee Kuan Yew's views in an interview last year, which
state that while homosexuality is genetic, the lives
of gays should not be interfered.

While this is symbolic of tolerance of sexual
minorities in Singapore, we must exercise caution at
how egalitarianism is strategically practised in
Singapore. Tolerance and acceptance of diversity
should not be expressed primarily in terms of economic
progress and development. It should extend beyond the
mere inclusion of non-Singaporeans.

If the increased tolerance of sexual minorities is
purely symbolic and articulated for the economic
imperative, for example, the attraction of foreign
talent, I worry for the local sexual minority
community, for little will be actually done to improve
public education and the social integration of people
of other sexual orientation. I hope this does not
result in a double-standard treatment of local and
foreign sexual minorities.

As Singaporeans so ingrained with the values and
rhetoric of economic pragmatism, we should be aware of
how we accept diversity. People should not be accepted
based solely on what we perceive them to be worth.
They should be accepted fundamentally for who they
are.

Ho Chi Sam

Pelangi Pride Centre has moved

Dear all,

A big "Thank You" to all the volunteers and The Bears who helped out
with the big move on Sunday 30 March 2008.

Pelangi Pride Centre will be closed for the next 2 weeks for us to
settle down in our new home.

We will re-open on the 19th of April 2008.

Please watch this space for more info about future activities in our
new home.

with thanks,

Charm, Nam Khim and Eileena.

ST Forum: Enlightened policy deserves praise (April 2)

April 2, 2008
Enlightened policy deserves praise
IT IS certainly laudable that Singapore has attracted top talent like
Professor Kerry Sieh as the founding director of Nanyang Technological
University's $300 million Earth Observatory, which is this region's
largest, 'MM's reassuring comments seal researcher's move here'. In a
recent TV interview in Melbourne, Dr Sieh predicts that yet another
tsunami will strike and this will be the grandaddy of them all.

In fact, he predicted the Boxing Day earthquake three years ago which
resulted in the tragic tsunami in Sumatra. He handed out fliers,
posters and brochures to residents of the islands worst hit by the
waves. He spoke at churches and schools to tell people what to do in
an earthquake, according to a report.

The Government's forward-looking policy against homosexual
discrimination clinched Dr Sieh's decision to accept the appointment.
He was reassured that he could live here with his gay Asian partner.

Rev Dr Yap Kim Hao