Archive for July, 2010
UK Host China Gay Party
Jul 15th
Shanghai – The UK pavilion at China’s World Expo hosted a party for Shanghai’s gay community at its pavilion park on Wednesday as part of its weeklong focus on civic society.
Organizers of the event said they plan to support Shanghai’s second annual Gay Pride Week, which was moved from June to late October, when the Expo ends. It will feature an expanded version of the Gay Olympics that debuted last June, as well as a pink picnic and a pool party.
A carnival-like public parade, typical of the Gay Pride format, is unlikely as it was banned last year for public security reasons.
“You’d expect the UK to support this kind of event. London Pride is one of the biggest gay pride events in the world,” said UK pavilion spokeswoman Katherine Dixon.
“It gives a lot to the city and has a great carnival atmosphere.”
“We want to have more of a Chinese Pride this year, not just one that’s all about foreigners having a party,” said Linda Li, a member of Shanghai LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender), which organizes the festival and is mostly run by ex-pats.
“We’re hoping to align ourselves more with the Asian gay community as a whole,” said Li.
Only about 30 Chinese participants attended as reports say that ads for the event were removed from a number of Chinese language websites.
Russian on Child Sex Charge Leaves Thailand
Jul 8th
Pattaya – The Russian musician at the center of a child rape allegation has flown out of Thailand with the approval of a Thai court to complete an engagement with a Russian orchestra.
Mikhail Pletnev, one of Russia’s top musicians and founder of the Russian National Orchestra, has been charged with raping a 14 year old boy in the resort town of Pattaya, where he has two homes and several businesses. He was granted bail by the criminal court on condition he returns to the court on 18 July.
The charge result from an earlier arrest of a Thai man, who apparently named Pletnev as one of his clients in a child sex ring, and a boy later told police that Pletnev had raped him twice while he was a guest in the musician’s house.
Pletnev, a well respected and accomplished pianist and conductor, has strongly denied the allegations, saying they were a “misunderstanding”.
Local child welfare activists fear the Plentnev may skip bail and not return to Thailand. The bail was reported to be 300,000baht, about US$9,400.
Manila Ready For Mr Gay
Jul 8th
Manila – Anticipating the worldwide Mister Gay pageant in Manila in February next year, organizers are holding this year’s national finals earlier than usual.
“This is the first time that the international contest will be held in Asia. We want to make sure that we give our best,” said Noemi Alberto, pageant producer from Winstruck Entertainment.
Last year’s winner, David Bosley, left for the international competition in Norway only last February. He landed in the semifinals, placing sixth overall from a field of over 35 international delegates.
Fifteen gay men are competing for the title in the local tilt. Alberto said the small number of contestants this year was due to the intense scrutiny the applicants went through.
Among the hopefuls are University of the Philippines’ mathematics instructor Louie Asis, government lawyer Darwin Tambago and dance sport athlete Miguel de la Serna, father of a two-year-old boy.
They are joined by heavy favorites Marc Earnest Biala, a nurse from Davao del Norte, and Sherin Abuel, a fashion designer from Mandaluyong City who dreams of organizing a Lesbian and Gay Chamber of Commerce to make the sector “more competitive in the field of international business.”
Filipino-Canadian Karla Paula Henry, the only Asian to be proclaimed Miss Earth in 2008, watched the presentation of Mr. Gay local candidates last month in Mandaluyong City. “Gay men have been very supportive of me when I was in the pageant circuit,” she said.
The Mr. Gay national edition will be held July 17 at Metro Bar, Quezon City
