Just one hour before the pageant was set to begin, police have swooped in to stop the first-ever Mr. Gay China show. Ready, set, stop: Mr. Gay China contestants 'Officers arrived at a Beijing nightclub shortly before the Mr Gay China competition started and told organisers it was not properly licensed,' reports the UK's Guardian newspaper. 'They are understood to have told the venue's owners that it was "a sensitive issue".' The pageant's organisers suggest that the international spotlight on the event this week prompted city officials to get cold feet. "I'm about to cry," reacted a contestant. "We really wanted to promote the sunny side of gay people." Mr. Gay China aimed to improve the self-esteem of the nation's gay men. Being gay was still defined as a mental illness as late as 2001 in China, where gay sex was illegal until 1997.
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News Staff
First published: Saturday, 16th January 2010 - 8:13am