Police Stop First-Ever Mr. Gay China Pageant

BEIJING, Jan. 15, 2010 — -- Just an hour before the first ever Mr. Gay China pageant was scheduled to begin, Beijing police came to the nightclub where it was scheduled and told organizers that they were not properly licensed to hold this type of event.

So they were forced to cancel it as the audience and press looked on. Police often use the "licensing" issue as a reason to prevent what the government deems as unlawful demonstrations, such as protests.

"It's incredibly disappointing," one organizer told ABC News. A great deal of money, sponsorships and time went into putting it together.

Just a day earlier, the contestants and organizers had talked enthusiastically, both about the pageant itself and what it meant for the way China might be changing its attitudes toward homosexuals.

It was supposed to feature a drag queen host, a swimwear segment and a talent show, but the Mr. Gay China pageant, which promised to be an entertaining event, will not go on.

It would have been seen as something of a landmark in a country where attitudes towards homosexuality are still very conservative and being openly gay is considered taboo.

"I think what we are doing is a big, huge progress," 29-year-old contestant Justin Jiang of Sichuan province told ABC News. "Ten years ago, you could never imagine that gay people would be able to get together like this and have a pageant."

Benjamin Zhang is the founder of Gayographic, Beijing's only gay PR and event-management company, and the organizer of the pageant. He said he wanted to draw people's attention to the thriving gay community in China, but he had no idea how much attention the event would draw.

"I didn't expect there would this huge media blitz," he told ABC. "Originally I didn't want unnecessary trouble and so I mainly reached out to Western media, but now more and more Chinese media are also asking about the event. This is making a huge impact in the public perception of the gay community and I hope that it will be positive."

It is possible that the media coverage alerted police to the event and led to the crackdown.