14 Out in the Mountains January 2000 BY LAURA MILLER hina is not most GLBT travelers’ obvious choice as a gay-friendly tourist destination. In fact, Hong Kong, more often than not, is viewed as lit- tle more than a stop-off point on the way to Bangkok. Nonetheless, Hong Kong boasts a formidable, if some- what secretive, gay and lesbian scene that is well worth look- ing into. The Tongzhi — a term encompassing all GLBT Chinese — have historically not enjoyed a great deal of toler- ance within Chinese society. It was not until 1992 that the People’s Republic of China officially declared that homo- sexuality was not illegal. Even today, the Lonely Planet guide reports that “[t]he PRC’s offi— any legal remedy whatsoever. Moreover, the legal conse- quences of “coming out” in Hong Kong are not nearly as severe as the cultural and eco- nomic ones. In a society in which personal connections are a basic necessity for sur- vival, the consequences of being disowned by one’s friends and family are too terri- fying for the average Tongzhi to even contemplate. In Hong Kong in particular, where affordable housing can be as difficult to find as in trendier parts of Manhattan, many young people live with their parents well into their thirties. To be thrown out by one’s fam- ily is tantamount to becoming homeless. As a result, the gay scene in Hong Kong is not one in which you can expect to find rows of houses and stores bedecked in the United States You will find a friendly and tight—knit group of people with the sense of com- munity that's all too quickly disappearing from more mainstream GLBT communities cial attitude to gays and les- bians in mainland China is ambiguous, with responses ranging from draconian penal- ties to tacit acceptance.” Hong Kong, however, enjoys different legal and cul- tural status, due in large part to the fact that it was a British ter- ritory until 1997. The British- run government decriminal- ized sodomy in 1991. Since the PRC is obliged to preserve Hong Kong’s legal system for at least 50 years, the Tongzhi of Hong Kong cannot be crim- inally prosecuted for sodomy by the PRC, regardless of what rules apply to the rest of main- land China. What the colonial govern- ment did not do for the Tongzhi was afford them any protection from employment discrimination. Thus a Tongzhi may be safe from police raids, but she can still be fired from her job solely on the basis of her sexual orientation, without ongz I.‘ The Queer Guide to Hong Kong with rainbow flags, nor are you likely to see same-sex couples holding hands in the streets. What you will find is a friendly and tight—knit group of people with the sense of com- munity all too quickly disap- pearing from the more main- stream GLBT communities in the United States. Moreover, the Tongzhi community is one of the few sectors of Chinese society in which Chinese and foreigners appear to truly come together as a family. Elsewhere, the British, Canadian, and American expa- triates who live and work in Hong Kong are frequently heard to complain that the Cantonese (the ethnic majority in Hong Kong) are generally uninterested in anyone or any- thing not Cantonese. Making connections There are several ways to tap into the Tongzhi scene, one of which is simply to roam 'I'HiNK pink The Pink Pages ‘Thousands of listings of gay/lesbian businesses and organizations and businesses that welcome you. be complete Pink Pages is on the web @ GAYYELLOWPag'es O kweb.com national headquarters of organizations, W 222% us FREE Referrals 0 any gayllesbian place in the U.$. or worldwide GAYELLDW PAGES” INFORMING THE LESBIAN, GAY, BISEXUAL & TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY SINCE 1973' All editions include a separate WOMEN’S SECTION USA/CANADA: $16 by first class mail Includes all states and provinces, mail order companies, etc. EAST and SOUTH Edition: $10 by first class mail , AL, AR, AZ, CT, DC, DE, FL, GA, HI, KS, KY, LA, MA, MD, ME, MO, M NJ, NM, NY, NC, OH, OK, PA, PR, RI, SC, TN, TX, US Virgin Is, VA V You can order directly from the address above, or you can find us at local gay-friendly bookstores, such as Peace & Justice (Burlington) 802-863-2532 Everyone’s Books (Brattleboro) 802-254-8160 V;-JBear Pond Books (Montpelier) 802-229-0774 For an application to be_|isted (no charge), or for details of current editions and prices, or information about mailing labels, please send a self-addressed stam Renaissance House, PO Box 533-OIM, Village Station, New York, NY 10014 212-674-0120 gayello@banet.net http://gayellowpages.com S, NH, 7 1-’ WV Ck. \ vi. ped envelope to