Gays still living in shadows as tensions linger after Urumqi riots

Tensions that linger one year after the July 5, 2009 riots in Urumqi, Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, have not only hurt business, but also have silenced efforts by a gay activist to raise awareness of AIDS prevention.

Xiaodai Muyi, 26, who belongs to the Hui ethnic minority group, said it has never been easy to help gay people in Xinjiang.

The advocate runs the only registered gay rights and AIDS prevention non-governmental organization (NGO) in Urumqi. He also leads the Caiyuan Xinjiang Gay Working Group to raise awareness of AIDS prevention among Xinjiang ethnic minorities.

Xinjiang has 25,694 HIV cases as of March, 2009, according to tianshannet.com.cn.

Xiaodai thought he knew all the difficulties in promoting gay rights to ethnic minority. But he was shocked by the July 5 riots and their aftermath.

With most streets deserted at night in a city of more than 2 million people, the tensions have forced Xiaodai to assume a low profile. He says police officers frequently visit the gay bar he operates in Urumqi to raise awareness of AIDS.

"We used to teach Uyghur volunteers about AIDS and try to improve their understanding of men having sex with men," he told the Global Times. "Yet, after the riots, any group of Uyghur people getting together might cause trouble."

To avoid trouble, he closed his gay bar on Monday.

"Even though the city is safe, police don't want people to hang out in the evening, so business has gone bad," he said.

Surprisingly, the activist said the Internet blackout in Xinjiang has not hampered his efforts to promote gay awareness on the Web. His bulletin board forum (BBS) was available online during the blackout.

Source:Global Times
【1】 【2】