Yahoo – AFP,
15 Feb 2015
 |
Four
hundred gay couples in China entered a pre-Valentine's Day sweepstakes
organised by two gay rights charities and internet giant Alibaba to win a trip
to the
US to get married (AFP Photo/Kenzo Tribouillard)
|
Ten gay
couples in China have won a trip to the US to get married this summer as part
of a competition organised by Alibaba's e-commerce platform Taobao that ended
Saturday.
Four
hundred couples entered the pre-Valentine's Day sweepstakes organised by two
gay rights charities and the internet giant in what is a highly unusual move
for China where same-sex marriage is illegal and homosexuality remains a taboo
subject.
The hopefuls
had to upload a short video explaining their love story. The organisers then
whittled down the field to just 20 finalists before opening the competition to
a public vote.
The winning
couples will be flown to Los Angeles in June to tie the knot on an all expenses
paid trip to the United States.
The unions
will not be recognised under Chinese law but an Alibaba spokeswoman described
the move as "more of a symbolic kind of gesture".
"It
will strengthen awareness and encourage respect and tolerance towards
homosexuality," the company said.
Beijing
only decriminalised homosexuality in 1997 and stopped classifying it as a
mental illness in 2011.
Gay rights
campaigners in China still face harassment from authorities or bureaucratic
roadblocks.
LGBT groups
in China are barred from registering as official non-governmental organisations
(NGOs), and activists often take a low-profile approach to promoting events
lest the authorities decide to crack down.
Those who
come out to friends and family in China often face significant pressure to
undergo sexuality "treatment" or marry a partner of the opposite sex.
The
competition was part of promotion Taobao's new travel platform aimed at the gay
community with deals on trips to "destinations were gay marriage is legal"
including the United States, New Zealand and Canada.
Related Article:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.