Inaugural gay pageant ordered to shut down
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Simon Wang, 26, contestant No 0100 for the Mr Gay China pageant, poses for cameras after organizers canceled the event on Friday. [Wang Jing] |
China's first Mr Gay China pageant was canceled on Friday evening, following police orders to shut down the event an hour before it was scheduled to start.
At 7:57 pm, event management company Gayographic's creative director Chris Tsao went on stage and announced that the event was canceled due to inadequate paperwork. Guests and media were asked to leave the venue within the hour.
Chinese novelist Xiao Jie, who was slated as one of the event's judges, said it was a local law enforcement decision.
"If I was local police and I heard there was a lot of local and foreign media, I'd be worried," Xiao said.
Foreign as well as local media were present at the event. Pageant volunteers told China Daily that members of the Chinese-language media were not registered in advance but also attended.
A few minutes later, Ryan Dutcher, co-founder and communications director for Gayographic, told the press that his partner, co-founder and managing director of Gayographic, Benjamin Zhang, was still talking to the authorities.
"Ben (Zhang) and the police are in a back room talking. So maybe there's still hope."
When asked whether or not the authorities contacted them about any problems prior to the event's opening, Dutcher replied that they had not.
Zhang was unavailable for comment.
Xiao Gang, a gay activist and another of the pageant's judges, expressed his disappointment at the cancellation.
"I'm very sad because I honestly didn't think this would happen I was so happy about this thing happening," he said.
"And it all ended just one hour before."
Dennis Sebastian, a representative for Mr World Gay's franchise in the Philippines that authorized Gayographic's event on the Chinese mainland, was invited to give the opening speech. Sebastian admitted that he had already expressed concerns to organizers about holding such a high-profile gay event in China.
"This is exactly why I was particularly worried," he told China Daily several minutes after the announcement.
"I made the suggestion that they should select a delegate and not hold a pageant."
Earlier this week, Gayographic, touted as Beijing's only gay PR and event management company, hosted a press event with five of the eight contestants, representing regions throughout the Chinese mainland.
Emilio Liu, a contestant from the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, expressed his shock.
"I was thinking that this might happen, but just not this fast," he said.
The winner was to compete in the final competition next month in Oslo, Norway. The global Mr Gay Pageant includes 32 delegates worldwide. The pageant's objective, according to a Gayographic press release, is to use a "beauty competition" to raise the self-esteem and visibility of gay men internationally.
It was not known whether the pageant would be relocated after last night's cancellation.
Dutcher said that, "as for next steps, I don't know".
When asked whether the cancellation was a major setback for China, Dutcher replied: "It's hard to say. It's something that's happened before. Not a step back, but definitely not a step forward."
