Guest fountainhall Posted May 18, 2011 Posted May 18, 2011 Since Hong Kong changed the law to decriminalize homosexual acts between gay males more than 20 years ago, the gay scene has been expanding with an increasing number of dedicated bars and saunas, a couple of beaches, as was well as gay-friendly organisations. So it was surprising that on May 15th the authorities stepped in to put an end to a small rally marking the Seventh Annual International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (IDAHO). The aim of this year’s rally was to promote equal rights for all, irrespective of gender identity and sexual orientation. The event commenced with speeches from LGBT activists and some prominent Hong Kong personalities, including legislator Cyd Ho Sau-Lan. These were followed by a dance performance by a group called ‘Dancing Angels’. According to the report on the website fridae.com - The performance was suddenly cut short when the Chairman of the IDAHO Organizing Committee, Reggie Ho, stepped forward to announce: “The police have requested us to stop the performance as we do not have an entertainment licence.” The crowd booed. “We are going to respect their decision, as Hong Kong is the land of the rule of law,” said Reggie Ho. “However, we want you (the police) to know that what we are doing here is to fight for equal rights for all, including your rights.” The police said that the group did not have a ‘Temporary Places of Public Entertainment Licence’, and that therefore the dance performance was not allowed. Ho told Fridae that the police had in fact watched a rehearsal of the dance performance right before the event started, and did not mention that the organisers were not in possession of a valid license to stage the show . . . The rally had, from the start, met with a heavy police presence and the police video-recorded the proceedings on the stage before the dance performances began. The video recording equipment was withdrawn after the dancing stopped, though six to seven police officers remained at the site. “This is over-policing. Your presence is an act of intimidation, and violates our right to freedom of speech. Please withdraw,” argued solicitor Michael Vidler. This was to no avail. “It is strange that the police should prohibit LGBT people from expressing themselves through dance. This has not happened with other events I know of, such as gatherings promoting racial tolerance, in which ethnic dances were performed” . . . commented Madeleine Mok of Amnesty International, one of the organisers. Her comment was correct; all LGBT public events held so far in Hong Kong have included some form of celebratory performances, and none have so far been similarly banned. In fact, Amnesty International Hong Kong had a rally in Kowloon at the same time, which included music and dancing but did not require a license. http://www.fridae.com/newsfeatures/2011/05/16/10876.hong-kong-police-interrupts-idaho-rally-programme-cut-short Clearly the organisers were remiss in not applying for an entertainment licence - which almost certainly would have been approved quickly. Yet, after many years without such harassment, many are wondering why the Hong Kong authorities chose this particular occasion to lay down the law – and in doing so to make use of such a transparently flimsy excuse. Quote
