Twelve
years
ago,
as
the
last
Summer
Olympics
held
in
the
United
States
prepared
to
open
in
Atlanta,
elected
officials
and
gay
leaders
gathered
for
an
Olympic
first:
a
ribbon-cutting
ceremony
to
mark
the
official
opening
of
the
Gay
&
Lesbian
Visitor’s
Center.
Throughout
the
1996
Atlanta
games,
the
center
—
with
the
blessing
of
the
Atlanta
mayor’s
office
—
offered
information,
exhibits,
concerts
and
theater
productions
where
gay
tourists
and
athletes
from
around
the
world
mingled
with
the
city’s
highly
visible
gay
and
lesbian
population.
Now,
as
the
2008
Summer
Olympics
open
in
Beijing,
gay
tourists
and
athletes
can
expect
a
very
different
atmosphere
in
a
nation
where
an
international
economy
and
cosmopolitan
cities
coexist
with
Communist
government
oversight
and
strict
cultural
traditions.
In
March,
outspoken
AIDS
activist
Wan
Yanhai
sent
an
email
to
Chinese
HIV
and
gay
Internet
groups
documenting
six
instances
of
alleged
police
raids
on
gay
nightclubs,
gathering
places
and
bath
houses
in
Beijing.
Noting
that
a
gay
bath
house
in
Shanghai
was
also
shuttered,
“evidence
shows
that
this
time,
crackdowns
are
being
carried
out
at
the
national
level,”
wrote
Wan,
the
founder
of
the
AIDS-related
Aizhixing
Institute,
who
has
been
jailed
several
times
for
criticizing
the
government’s
response
to
HIV.
The
report
alarmed
the
blog
Shanghaiist,
which
noted
that
“gay
life
in
China
has
been
enjoying
pretty
much
unfettered
development
over
the
last
decade,
so
it
could
be
that
we’re
at
a
point
in
time
when
the
authorities
see
the
need
to
rein
in
the
unbridled
growth.
“Are
the
crackdowns
being
executed
as
part
of
a
larger
‘spring
cleaning
exercise’
ahead
of
the
Olympics
so
China
would
be
able
to
project
to
the
world
its
best
image,
whatever
that
means
to
the
powers
that
be?”
the
blog
asked.
“Only
time
will
tell.”
As
the
Olympics
neared,
Wan
claimed
that
he
and
other
human
rights
activists
faced
increased
police
scrutiny.
But
websites
for
popular
gay
clubs
in
Beijing,
like
trendy
Destination,
indicate
that
they
are
open
as
of
press
time,
and
other
activists
say
they
have
not
experienced
specific
oppression.
“There
has
been
a
gradual
tightening
of
control
in
and
around
Beijing,
on
all
kinds
of
venues.
It
does
not
appear
that
gay
venues
are
being
singled
out,”
said
Damien
Lu,
one
of
about
40
volunteers
who
run
the
Aibai
Culture
&
Education
Center,
which
operates
two
gay
centers
in
China,
a
gay
library,
and
a
website
(www.aibai.cn
or
www.gaychinese.net)
that
logs
about
65,000
visits
per
day.
Lu
is
the
only
Aibai
leader
who
does
not
live
in
China;
a
resident
of
Los
Angeles,
he
visits
China
twice
per
year.
Lu
said
he
communicates
with
Wan
“almost
daily,”
and
is
aware
of
the
concerns
he
raised
about
police
crackdowns.
“Most
LGBT
people
in
China
disagree
with
him
on
this,”
he
said.
Edmund
Yang,
one
of
the
owners
of
Destination,
responded
to
an
email
interview
request
from
Southern
Voice
by
noting,
“We'll
take
a
look
at
your
questions
before
reverting
to
you.”
Answers
were
not
received
by
press
time,
but
the
club
is
clearly
readying
for
an
influx
of
visitors,
posting
a
website
notice
about
“celebrating
and
enjoying
the
2008
Beijing
Olympics
at
the
‘bigger
and
better’
Destination.”
Meanwhile,
concern
over
the
conditions
faced
by
gay
citizens
in
China
is
among
the
factors
that
motivated
the
New
York-based
Gay
&
Lesbian
Alliance
Against
Defamation
to
include
the
issue,
along
with
tips
for
covering
gay
athletes,
in
its
new
Olympic
Media
Resource
Kit.
“Media
outlets
have
used
the
Olympic
Games
to
draw
attention
to
human
rights
issues
in
China,
and
the
Games
have
created
a
opportunity
for
the
stories
of
the
LGBT
Chinese
community
to
garner
unprecedented
media
coverage,”
said
Andy
Marra,
GLAAD’s
Asian
Pacific
Islander
media
coordinator.
CONFLICTING
INFLUENCES
The
Olympic
Games
have
focused
world
media
attention
on
China,
where
the
government
is
anxious
to
shed
its
image
as
an
oppressive
Communist
state
in
favor
of
a
modern
country
that
has
become
an
economic
superpower.
But
the
Games
have
also
become
a
focal
point
for
criticism
of
Chinese
policies,
from
environmental
pollution
in
major
cities
like
Beijing
to
alleged
human
rights
abuses
in
Tibet
and
other
areas.
The
issues
faced
by
gay
and
transgender
citizens
deserve
similar
scrutiny
in
a
country
that
limits
freedom
of
speech
and
assembly,
according
to
GLAAD.
“By
weaving
gay
and
transgender
personal
stories
and
issues
into
coverage
of
the
Olympic
Games,
media
will
play
a
vital
role
for
shining
a
spotlight
on
the
current
state
of
human
rights
in
China,”
the
gay
watchdog
group
argues
in
its
media
guide.
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