2023-11-18 10:50:36
Hong Kong Pride Parade｜For the fifth year, there will be no parade but an interactive exhibition. Mainland visitors lamented the convention: the safety of participants might not be guaranteed
[Yahoo News Report]This year’s “Hong Kong Gay Parade” still cannot be held on the streets. Instead, the conference will hold a “Gay One Day Space” event in Kwun Tong for two consecutive days, with the theme “Three Things Rainbow GPS Taught Me” , which includes interactive exhibitions, merchant booths and guided tours, etc. The organizer said that although it was unable to hold a parade on the streets, it hoped to attract Hong Kong people to participate through exhibitions and stalls and embrace diversity and gay rights.
This year’s “Hong Kong Gay Parade” will be held on two consecutive days in Kwun Tong as a “Gay One Day Space” event
The conference features interactive exhibitions, including celebrity coming out stories, psychological tests, and amateurs coming out stories. The exhibition also displays photos of past gay parades, emphasizing that “showing up means fighting.” The exhibition opened at noon today (18th), and there was an endless stream of visitors. The number of people in the venue remained close to 200 for a long time.
There are still “parade route” signs posted at the site to guide visitors in the direction of their visit.
“Looking forward to seeing you all on the street”
Hong Kong’s first gay parade was held in December 2008. In 2019, the application for the parade was rejected by the police for the first time, and only the rally in Edinburgh Square in Central was approved. Since then, it has been changed to online rallies, markets and other forms. By 2023, it has been the fifth year without a parade. Physical parade. Cuby, organizer of the conference, said that the gay parade “longs for freedom and joy.” The current environment is not stable and clear. “If we cannot guarantee the physical and mental safety of the participants, we will not do such a thing.” . Therefore, this year’s conference did not have a ticket for the parade, and it was held in the form of an exhibition. “But we still look forward to seeing everyone on the street, and hope that we can truly have a gay parade on the street.”
Cuby, organizer of the conference, said that gay parades “yearn for freedom and are so joyful.” The current environment and climate are not very stable and clear, so there are no applications for parades at this year’s conference.
Regarding the criticism of sexual minority activities such as the Gay Sports Games by legislators, Cuby said, “A lot of discrimination comes from his ignorance. It’s not my turn to worry! They have their freedom, and I have my freedom.” , I don’t even like them.” As for the physical parade turning into an exhibition, the conference did not set an attendance target. “It’s great to have people come! The night is colorful and attractive. I’m very happy to see friends coming over.”
Hong Kong gay parade was held in an industrial building, attracting many people
Ah Zheng serves as Rainbow Ambassador: There is pressure to support friends
Commercial TV DJ Huang Zhengyi (Ah Zheng) was appointed as this year’s Rainbow Ambassador. She said she was not pressured or criticized by netizens. She pointed out that members of the sexual minority need to consider other people’s opinions and consider whether to come out. “Being a Rainbow Ambassador is no more stressful than being a gay person.” She hopes to work with members of the sexual minority, “As a friend, I support everyone, but there is pressure to support friends!” If someone questions that they should not be friends with gays, Ah Zheng laughed and said, “I’m thinking… it’s none of his business. !」
Commercial TV DJ Huang Zhengyi (Ah Zheng) was appointed as this year’s Rainbow Ambassador. She said she was not pressured or criticized by netizens.
Mr. Wen specially came to Hong Kong from Hangzhou in the Mainland to participate in this event. He pointed out that both the government and the sexual minority community in the Mainland try to keep a low profile on issues of equal rights and “just turn a blind eye”. They will also call same-sex couples “roommates” in a low-key manner in the Mainland. He said that the goal of coming to Hong Kong this time was to understand Hong Kong people’s attitudes and thoughts on gay rights, and to use different activities as a reference. He hoped that there would be opportunities to hold similar activities in the mainland in the future. He has been to Taiwan to participate in gay parades before, but this time in Hong Kong it was changed to an exhibition. “It’s a bit different from what he imagined.” He feels sorry for this. “The scale and the number of people are much smaller. I hope it can get bigger and bigger in the future!” “
Wen Sheng specially came to Hong Kong from the mainland to participate in the gay parade. He has also been to Taiwan and felt regretful that the parade in Hong Kong was turned into an exhibition.
Clayton attended the event with his friends. “The issues in this circle are quite sad, but the atmosphere of this group’s event is so happy that it deserves encouragement.” He only started to pay attention to the information regarding gay parades during the epidemic, so he has not participated in physical gay parades, but he is also happy to participate in exhibitions and activities. “There are very few such activities in Hong Kong, so I want to support them even more. In this environment, everyone should do “Just do whatever comes first, that’s all.” If the physical parade is held once more next year, he would also like to participate in person.
Clayton didn’t want to be on camera, so he brought a “rainbow bag” and a “rainbow watch strap” to the scene. Although the souvenirs are low-key, they can always be recognized by fellow travelers.
Angus and Adrian were present together. They both appreciated the addition of informational panels at this year’s conference, telling different gay stories. “They are all very different from last year. It’s attractive to see scary stories and learn more.” They all regretted that the parade might not be held once more this year and hoped to participate in the parade next year.
Angus and Adrian looked at the exhibition with the guidebook distributed by the conference and found it more attractive than the simple market last year.
“It’s always different. There are more people in the parade.”
Janice, who is a college student herself, was present with two classmates, and the three of them had also participated in the Ceili Sports. Janice believes that the effect of an exhibition and a parade are different. “It’s always different. There are more people in the parade.” Parades can attract public attention, but the exhibition on the 8th floor of the building “changes the group of people who came here in advance.” Yan, who was traveling with Janice, also said that the cohesion of the exhibition format was relatively low and “the atmosphere was very different.”
Janice (right) said that the parade can attract the attention of the masses and have a better effect.
There are also regarding a dozen stalls on site, selling a variety of “rainbow products”, including T-shirts, badges, mobile phone cases, on-site hand-painting, etc. There are also organizations present to promote correct knowledge.
Some participants posted slogans and rainbow flag stickers on the message board.
The exhibition has a celebrity coming out section, which lists the coming out experiences of Denise Ho and others.
There are also regarding a dozen stalls on site, selling a variety of “rainbow products”
Hong Kong Gay Parade 2023 – Gay One Day Space
Date: November 18-19, 2023 (Saturday and Sunday)
Location: The Wave – 8/F, 4 Hing Yip Street, Kwun Tong
Time: 12 noon to 7 pm
Activities: Exhibitions, booths and workshops
Topic: Three Things Rainbow GPS Taught Me
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