Chinese moms seeking partners for gay children forced to leave

A group of 11 Chinese mothers, who had gathered at a park in Shanghai seeking partners for their gay children, have been forced to leave the popular spot by the police for not registering in advance for holding a demonstration, a media report said today.
Chinese police "swiftly removed" the mothers demonstrating and carrying rainbow umbrellas as well as placards at a matchmaking spot in the People's Park on Monday.
Just an hour after the group had settled in a corner of the park, they were told to put away their umbrellas and leave by local police, who said that their matchmaking activities had not been registered in advance, state-run 'Global Times' reported, quoting local media reports.

A video posted on popular microblog, Sina Weibo by Rela, a social platform for Chinese lesbians, showed park security staff trying to forcibly seize their umbrellas and forcing them to leave the park.
The video, which is edited, shows the mothers carrying placards with messages reading "seeking a boyfriend for my son" and "Rela supports gay families speaking out.
One placard had the English phrase "Keep calm it's just love" written on it, and one mother said "my son is gay" to the camera in English.

"If the parents of straight children can search for potential partners for their children, why can't we?" asked another mother in the group from Shenzhen, South China's Guangdong Province.

"We also have the right to be here. All I want is to find a boyfriend for my son," the daily quoted the mother as saying.
An online poll conducted by the 'Chengdu Business Daily' on the incident shows that around 70 per cent of the respondents voiced support for the mothers, agreeing that their actions were brave and wise.
About five per cent backed the park staff, saying such activities should be registered in advance to prevent troubles.
Some other parents at the matchmaking corner said they disapproved of the group's actions.
"Homosexuality should not be seen in public... Their sexual orientation is wrong, and does not agree with traditional Chinese values," one man was quoted as saying by thepaper.Cn.

Gay culture has increasingly become prevalent in China in recent years.
Although there are no official statistics, it is estimated that China has 50 million to 70 million people who are identified as LGBT.
Last November, a survey carried in the the 'Global Times' noted that some 70 per cent of the LGBT respondents lived in second-tier or other less developed cities like Chengdu and Chongqing in Southwest China.
The LGBT communities in those cities are increasingly more confident and open to the public, the survey had said.
The survey also stated that 22 per cent of gays and 19 per cent of lesbians lived in major metropolises, such as Beijing and Shanghai and around 8 per cent of gays and 9 per cent of lesbians lived in towns and villages.

The spending power and keen interest in travel by those in China's well-heeled Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender, (LGBT) community are attracting attention from tourism start- ups and investors to promote tours for them.