China:Homosexual rights in China will take another tentative step forward this week when a satellite channel launches the country's first TV show to focus on gay issues, called Connecting Homosexuals.
The 12-episode series will be broadcast online and features issues such as coming out and gay marriage. It marks a major departure in China where homosexuality remains taboo and was considered an illness until not too long ago.
The show's producer, Gang Gang, described the programme as a departure for China. While homosexuals have appeared on Chinese TV shows before, this will be the first show to concentrate on gay issues and Mr Gang hoped the Beijing-based broadcast would promote better understanding of homosexuals in China.
"There are many people in China's gay community, but people don't have a deep enough understanding about this community. This community faces . . . a lot of pressure," said Mr Gang.
Phoenix Satellite TV vice-president Zou Ming said there were at least 30 million homosexuals on the mainland.
In 2001, officialdom stopped considering homosexuality a mental illness, but intolerant attitudes remain.
There are periodic calls for the legalisation of same-sex marriages in China at the National People's Congress, but they rarely make it beyond the proposal stage.
Many middle-aged or older Chinese people believe that homosexuality does not exist, or is another phenomenon that the West is trying to introduce into China. Intolerance of homosexuality means than many gay men are married , and are active in secret, which Aids activists say is a real problem in controlling the illness.
Even though there was great national pride when Ang Lee won the Oscar for Brokeback Mountain last year, the film itself was banned in China for its homosexual theme.
The show may yet not make it past the censors - although the programme will air on the internet, where controls on content are somewhat looser than on public broadcasting, there are still filterng systems that block content considered subversive or obscene.
The show will also be the first with an openly gay host, Didier Zheng (27) a Sorbonne-educated activist with the Chi Heng Foundation, which works with Aids orphans and promotes Aids prevention. There were 800 applicants to present the show.
