With Shanghai host to China’s first-ever gay pride festival last week, gay rights activists celebrated 100 years of progress.

Here are a few legal milestones in the country’s progress towards full recognition of alternative lifestyles:

1949 – Xiao Chen v. United Corsets and Panties Ltd.: The court upholds the right of male homosexuals to enter into commercial agreements with lingerie manufacturers

1952 – Fan Lanhua v. City of Chongqing: A local bylaw that required all homosexuals to scream, “Stand back, the Queen is coming” when entering crowded thoroughfares public is removed

1956 – The Big Swish v. Guangzhou: A gay plaintiff won the right to be protected from offensive epithets in the titling of court cases

1962 – Wang v. Wong: Wong Lixiang was fined RMB 0.5 for damage done to the bicycle of Wang Shiyi, a gay man

1979 – Kou v. Jiangsu: Men permitted to dance together as long as they are members of the PLA

1981 – Lou v. Ling: Women permitted to holds hands in public as long as an army base is located within 50 kilometers of their place of residence and no one is looking

1997 – Shi v. Baskin-Robbins: All Chinese citizens, including gays, are legally entitled to request ask for up to two sample tastes before purchasing

2003 – House of Lost Souls v. Gu: Gay bars no longer have to be named at the suggestion of the local neighborhood committee

2008 – Li v. Li: Upheld the right of closeted gays to remain trapped in loveless marriages arranged by their parents til death do they part

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By Xian Qi
SINGAPORE - Several sources independently confirmed Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s heterosexuality Friday, putting an end to longstanding speculation that he is a closeted homosexual.

In a press conference Thursday at the Singapore Island Country Club, Chan Xu Ling, wife of noted attorney Chee Soong Yuong, stated that she had seen a sworn affidavit on her husband’s desk affirming that the PM engages in intercourse with his wife every Sunday. The affidavit was signed by the PM’s wife, Ho Ching, claimed Chan.

The attorney and his wife were subpoenaed today and swore that the document in question is indeed genuine. Further evidence was taken from the Lee’s maid, who testified that she was under strict orders to wash the couple’s bedroom sheets on Monday mornings.

News of the PM’s sexual preference came as a revelation to one cabinet minister, who spoke on condition of anonymity. “It was no surprise to government members when Lee took Ho Ching as his second wife. After all, she is very masculine. We thought he/she might have had an operation in Thailand.”

Raymond Min, president of the Heads Up gay rights group, said, “If he’s really doing it with Ho Ching, there should be a law against such disgusting behavior.”

Another cabinet minister, who also requested anonymity, said that “Lee’s homophobia is so visceral, I could only see him as conflicted. On the other hand, his predecessor Goh Chok Tong was clearly a man’s man. He was so confident in his sexuality that he lifted the ban on gays working for the government and stopped the police raids the bathhouses. Gay life really opened up under his watch. It was obvious he had nothing to hide.”

In 2003, in reference to the city-state’s gay community Goh stated that “… in time the population will understand that some people are born that way. We are born this way and they are born that way, but they are like you and me.” He also stated that gays would be allowed to serve in ’sensitive positions’ in the Civil Service.

That same year, with the support of the current PM’s father Lee Kwan Yew, Singapore lifted the ban on section 377A of the penal code. Lee Hsien Loong later reinstated the law.

Alex Au, who for a decade has fought for gay rights in Singapore, said Lee’s preference for pink ties had everyone fooled. “I’m disappointed to discover that Lee is just another straight guy who hates gays. I’m a fool for believing those stories about his taking it up the bum at boarding school.”

The revelation about the PM’s heterosexuality is also expected to quell rumors that his first wife, Wong Ming Yang, committed suicide due to family pressure and marital troubles. In light of the facts, it seems true that the healthy 31-year-old had a fulfilling marriage and passed away from a heart attack, as officially reported.

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