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Parker to China: Gay Rights Good for Business


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Houston mayor Annise Parker visited Shanghai, one of China’s most welcoming cities for LGBT people, on Monday and praised its open attitudes as smart business.

According to GayPolitics.com, Parker is on her first trip abroad since being elected in December, when Houston become the largest U.S. city to date to elect an openly gay mayor. The purpose of her visit to China is to encourage business links, especially new direct air carrier routes, between Houston and Shanghai.

“Leading a delegation of some 60 Houstonians to the city, Mayor Annise Parker today praised Shanghai, China as a welcoming and open to its LGBT citizens, a stance she said is good for business,” reported GayPolitics.com.

According to the Xinhua news agency, Parker spoke at Houston Day at the USA Pavilion at the Shanghai World Expo and said, “Shanghainese and Houstonians are similar. They care about what you do, not who you are.”

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Reader Comments
  • Name: DEke
    Date posted: 8/2/2010 10:12:40 PM
    Hometown: HIno Jp

    Comment:

    I think the implication here is "compared to the rest of the country," which almost certainly true. A friend recently returned from a year at college in Shanghai, and he seemed to have a lot more fun than when he's here (in Japan). In any case the younger generation of Chinese seem to be remarkably sexually open, esp considering how far they have come in a short time.

  • Name: ozzy
    Date posted: 8/2/2010 7:24:16 PM
    Hometown: sacramento

    Comment:

    So when anyone mentions gay rights, or human rights in general, China comes to mind. Riiiiight...

  • Name: Nancy Conyers
    Date posted: 8/2/2010 1:07:56 PM
    Hometown: Hong Kong

    Comment:

    This is a BIT of a stretch to say that Shanghai is welcoming to LGBT people. I lived in Shanghai for five and a half years...it's very difficult and very complicated to be gay in China. A performance of The Laramie Project was shut down during the rehearsal stage by the Shanghai government. There are bars, but they're mixed. All gay life is closeted, and it feels like the US in the 1950's. It's one thing to travel somewhere, it's a whole other thing to live there.



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