{"id":7104,"date":"2016-06-06T00:38:44","date_gmt":"2016-06-06T04:38:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/?p=7104"},"modified":"2016-06-07T10:48:04","modified_gmt":"2016-06-07T14:48:04","slug":"taipei-watcher-chinas-censorship-on-homosexuality-disappoints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.chinesepen.org\/english\/taipei-watcher-chinas-censorship-on-homosexuality-disappoints","title":{"rendered":"Taipei Watcher: China\u2019s censorship on homosexuality disappoints"},"content":{"rendered":"
China\u2019s ban on a popular drama and a new book highlights its fluctuating stance on homosexuality. Can Taiwan serve as a positive influence?<\/h5>\n
By Eddy Chang \u00a0\/\u00a0 Staff reporter<\/div>\n
\"Tsoi

Tsoi Wing-mui, author of a new book, The Secret Emotional Life of Zhou Enlai, points to a photo in December of last year of a young Zhou Enlai and a schoolmate. Photo: Reuters<\/p><\/div>\n

The romance between Gu Hai (\u9867\u6d77) and Bai Luoyin (\u767d\u6d1b\u56e0), two handsome gay senior high school students from the Web series Addiction (\u4e0a\u766e), has caused a sensation in both China and Taiwan.The program was seen by 10 million viewers on the day of its release in January, setting a new record for China\u2019s television industry and was the most watched show on China\u2019s leading video streaming sites. Netizens on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, it seemed, had become addicted to Addiction.<\/p>\n

Then the Chinese government shut the series down.<\/p>\n

Early this month, Beijing issued new guidelines for television just a week after the popular gay-themed drama was pulled, banning them from including storylines involving homosexuality and other \u201cvulgar, immoral and unhealthy\u201d content that \u201cexaggerates the dark side of society.\u201d<\/p>\n

The disappearance of the series late last month, which triggered an uproar on social media, displays \u201cChinese authorities\u2019 distinct discomfort regarding homosexuality,\u201d Time magazine reported. Such discomfort is also reflected in China\u2019s handling of The Secret Emotional Life of Zhou Enlai (\u5468\u6069\u4f86\u7684\u79d8\u5bc6\u60c5\u611f\u4e16\u754c), a new book about the late Chinese premier Zhou Enlai (\u5468\u6069\u4f86).<\/p>\n

WAS ZHOU ENLAI GAY?<\/strong><\/p>\n

When the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) defeated the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) in 1949, Zhou became the first premier of the People\u2019s Republic of China, holding the post until his death in 1976. Charming, gentle and sophisticated in public, he presented a modern face as the country\u2019s second most powerful man, serving as a role model for a \u201cnew China.\u201d<\/p>\n

But a new book, Secret, says that he may have been gay.<\/p>\n

\u201cZhou Enlai was a tragic figure. He was very famous and always under the media spotlight,\u201d the book\u2019s author Tsoi Wing-mui (\u8521\u8a60\u6885) told BBC News. \u201cBut there were many aspects of his life that were like riddles and difficult to explain.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tsoi\u2019s hypothesis is based on Zhou\u2019s diary entries and personal letters, alleging that he harbored a lifelong love for a schoolmate, and that his sexual orientation would perfectly explain some \u201cmysteries\u201d about his life.<\/p>\n

Tsoi said these mysteries include Zhou\u2019s coldness toward his wife Deng Yingchao (\u9127\u7a4e\u8d85), a former chairwoman of the Chinese People\u2019s Political Consultative Conference, in a \u201cmarriage of convenience\u201d that benefited their political purposes.<\/p>\n

It also helps to explain his absolute obedience to Mao Zedong (\u6bdb\u6fa4\u6771), who may have threatened to reveal his secret. After all, Tsoi stressed, homosexuality was seen as a sin against socialism because the communists, somewhat oddly, labeled it \u201ca capitalist way of life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Unsurprisingly, Tsoi\u2019s book has been banned in China. Hong Kong entertainer Wong He (\u738b\u559c) was even cut from a CCTV variety show after he shared on Facebook an article about the book.<\/p>\n

The bans on the popular drama and new book make it clear that China has yet to accept homosexuality. Indeed, the Chinese government did not decriminalize gay sex until 1997, and homosexuality was classified until 2001 as a \u201cpsychiatric disorder.\u201d The world\u2019s largest country by population has no openly gay politician because that would be political suicide.<\/p>\n

LGBT CENSORSHIP<\/strong><\/p>\n

Beijing likes to show its strength through authoritarian gestures, but censorship on homosexuality, like many other human rights issues, merely shows its fear and causes considerable anger among its population.<\/p>\n

Shanghai Pride (\u4e0a\u6d77\u9a55\u50b2\u7bc0) spokesman Matthew Baren recently said that while it is \u201cdisappointing\u201d that Addiction has disappeared, \u201cit\u2019s very encouraging to see shows about homosexuality being made in China, by Chinese talent and for Chinese audiences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though it was reported last week that a gay-themed variety show has been rejected by several TV stations due to the sensitivity of the issues it would tackle, Taiwan is considered relatively friendly to the LGBT community and can play a progressive role. By offering greater protection of LGBT rights, it can distinguish itself by upholding the universal value of human rights and set a good example for less progressive societies.<\/p>\n

Source: http:\/\/www.taipeitimes.com\/News\/feat\/archives\/2016\/03\/27\/2003642524\/1<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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