The visibility of the LGBT [lesbian, gay, (bisexual), transgender] community in China has been growing fast recently but its profile became more prominent this week as Shanghai (hosted) the country's first gay pride festival.
Although LGBTers will not take to the streets for a traditional-style (parade), the festival is being hailed for making the community more "visible" along similar lines to the way it is in the United States, where President Barack Obama (officially) designated June the National Gay Pride Month.
The Shanghai event, which includes (films), art exhibitions, panel discussions and theatre productions, began on Sunday and is set to finish on June 14.
The main attraction is likely to be an all-day party on Saturday, when organizers (expect to) attract at least 2,000 people.
Tiffany Lemay, the American co-organizer of the festival, said public parades in the city "aren't a possibility" - she took (legal) advice on the likelihood - but she said parades are not the only way to raise awareness and (visibility).
"Shanghai Pride is a community building (exercise). We hope to raise awareness of issues surrounding homosexuality, raise the visibility of the gay community, help people within our community to come out, and build bridges between the gay and (straight) communities," she said.
The event will be much larger than other gay events in China and will synchronize with the global gay pride movement, she (said).
She said the first two days wrapped (up with) a "great response". Several hundred people attended the opening night of a movie screening and a panel discussion.
"I think gay culture in Shanghai has gradually (come out) of the closet, thanks to the expat community in the city," said a gay man surnamed Chen, who lives with his (partner) in Shanghai.
Organizers said people were coming to the festival from Beijing and Hong Kong among other places.
China has a homosexual population of 30 (million) people - 20 million gays and 10 million lesbians, said Zhang Beichuan, China's leading (scholar) in the field of homosexuality. The government puts the figure at between 5 and 10 million.
China (removed) homosexuality from its list of crimes in 1997 and, in 2001, recognized it as natural phenomenon (rather) than a mental problem.
Question)
1. How do you view the gays?
2. How should the society treat the gays?
