Another New Shanghai Gay Club Closed

[Guest fountainhall]

Club Angel, said to be the largest gay club in Shanghai with 800 sq. meters of space, opened its doors in June for a ‘soft’ opening whilst it fine-tuned its operations. Now it has been announced that it will be closed until further notice. The closure is said to be temporary and due to issues related to its not having received all the necessary licenses. But, as was the case with Q Bar which was raided in April, “temporary” may also mean quite a period of time. Q Bar remains closed.

 

Licensing is always a major issue in China. Many bars, restaurants and other entertainment establishments start with soft openings whilst they get round the maze of regulations and permits required from various authorities. According to this article which appeared on the fridae website, it seems clear Club Angel did not have all the licenses in place. Add in the rivalry from other gay establishments, who often give police phoney tip-offs about illegal activities by start-up competitors, and that, I reckon, is asking for some kind of trouble in China!

 

An exciting megaclub in downtown Shanghai promised to be different when it held its soft opening in June. Club Angel was featured in the Time Out Shanghai magazine and its popularity also spread quickly via word-of-mouth . . .

 

Owner Ricky Lu, who is behind the now-defunct Pinkhome club, told Fridae he was in discussions with the authorities over licensing issues and hopes the club may re-open in a month. The bar had received an “environmental license” and still needed to navigate around other rule and regulations, he said, without elaborating.

 

“Soft” launches are mysterious periods of time when friends and old-patrons come by because licenses are not fully granted or an establishment has not passed food and safety inspections or arranged for payment facilities. It may also be a period when rules and regulations are being negotiated. Some bars and restaurants continue to operate in this halfway zone for months.

 

Local media suggested that the Shanghai authorities had received a barrage of complaints about the new venue. There were claims of sexual and pornographic activities at the club.

 

Club Angel denied this in an announcement online branding the accusations “an attack on the gay community.” The bar uploaded video clips and photos on its official microblog on Weibo, China’s Twitter, to prove it was just like any other bar. The club had also reportedly stated that they had enough reasons to believe the complaints originated from competitors – other gay clubs in town.

 

A government official was quoted by the Shanghai Daily, a state-run English language newspaper, saying the closure of Club Angel had nothing to do with it being a gay venue.

 

“The club was temporarily closed because it illegally started trial operations without a business license. The crackdown had nothing to do with discrimination against the gay community,” said an official with the Xuhui Cultural Law Enforcement Team. “When it has all the necessary and legal licenses and permissions, it may be reopened again.”

http://www.fridae.asia/newsfeatures/2011/08/10/11092.curtain-comes-down-on-shanghai-gay-club-before-official-opening

 

At the week-end I'll call some gay friends in Shanghai to find out if they know more.

[Guest]

So this looks like another Asian country suffering from too much corruption.

 

This is unfortunate, as with about 17% more males in the under 15 years age range, they will not all be finding female partners, so why not encourage the gay guys to find male company?

Considering this forthcoming social problem, perhaps the Chinese authorities should be doing everything possible to promote gay relationships.

[Guest fountainhall]

You are so right. The one-child-per-family policy has unquestionably worked wonders in controlling China's population figures, but a sad consequence has been the disappearance one way or another of a large number of baby girls. With such a population imbalance, China now has either to export millions of its menfolk in the hope they'll marry overseas, or accept that these same guys will never find girls to marry locally. A recent study indicates by 2020 more than 24 million men will be unable to find female partners.

 

Did no-one in the government see this coming years ago? Maybe they did. Is it possible they decided in their wisdom that with up to 5% of the male population likely to be gay anyway, the problem would take care of itself once they made being gay a more acceptable lifestyle? As likely as I am to retire in a gay community on Hainan Island, I reckon

[Guest]

Guardian article, seems to fit well with our conclusions from this short thread.

Guardian Story

[Guest snapshot]

What a shame. Chinese can be very homophobic. It goes against their values. It'll probably take some time for China to openly accept gays and gay-oriented businesses nationwide.