Time Magazine takes a look at what its like to be young and gay in Beijing:
There’s never been a better time to be gay in China, but as Destination’s somewhat schizophrenic combination of outer reserve and inner exuberance demonstrates, it still pays to be careful. Beijing’s attitude has been described as a Triple No policy: no approval, no disapproval, no promotion. That hands off approach — a sort of commercial don’t ask, don’t tell policy — is emblematic of the delicacy with which the Communist regime is learning to deal with many of the issues concerning personal liberties that are increasingly being raised by its burgeoning middle class. For their part, homosexuals in China seem perfectly happy to pursue their lives within the broad boundaries allowed by the government, albeit not without the occasional snipe at the authorities. It’s no coincidence, for example, that the once ubiquitous term tongzhi — comrade — is now only heard as a slang term among young Chinese for gay men. [Full text]
Read also journalist Simon Elegant’s blog post on reporting this story.
