Ten gay couples in China have won a trip to the US to get married in summer this year as part of a competition organized by Alibaba’s online shopping platform Taobao that ended on Saturday.
Four hundred couples entered the pre-Valentine’s Day sweepstakes organized by two gay rights charities and the Internet giant in what is a highly unusual move for China, where same-sex marriage is illegal and homosexuality remains a taboo subject.
The hopefuls had to upload a short video explaining their love story. The organizers then whittled down the field to just 20 finalists before opening the competition to a public vote online.
The winning couples are scheduled to be flown to Los Angeles in June to tie the knot on an all-expenses-paid trip to the US. The unions would not be recognized under Chinese law, but an Alibaba spokeswoman described the move as “more of a symbolic kind of gesture.”
“It will strengthen awareness and encourage respect and tolerance towards homosexuality,” the company said.
Beijing only decriminalized homosexuality in 1997 and stopped classifying it as a mental illness in 2011.
Gay rights campaigners in China still face harassment from authorities or bureaucratic roadblocks.
LGBT groups in China are barred from registering as official non-governmental organizations, and activists often take a low-profile approach to promoting events lest the authorities decide to crack down.
Those who come out to friends and family in China often face significant pressure to undergo sexuality “treatment” or marry a partner of the opposite sex.
The competition was part of promotion Taobao’s new travel platform aimed at the gay community with deals on trips to “destinations were gay marriage is legal,” including the US, New Zealand and Canada.
FRAUD ALLEGED: The leader of an opposition alliance made allegations of electoral irregularities and called for a protest in Tirana as European leaders are to meet Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama’s Socialist Party scored a large victory in parliamentary elections, securing him his fourth term, official results showed late on Tuesday. The Socialist Party won 52.1 percent of the vote on Sunday compared with 34.2 percent for an alliance of opposition parties led by his main rival Sali Berisha, according to results released by the Albanian Central Election Commission. Diaspora votes have yet to be counted, but according to initial results, Rama was also leading there. According to projections, the Socialist Party could have more lawmakers than in 2021 elections. At the time, it won 74 seats in the
BACKLASH: The National Party quit its decades-long partnership with the Liberal Party after their election loss to center-left Labor, which won a historic third term Australia’s National Party has split from its conservative coalition partner of more than 60 years, the Liberal Party, citing policy differences over renewable energy and after a resounding loss at a national election this month. “Its time to have a break,” Nationals leader David Littleproud told reporters yesterday. The split shows the pressure on Australia’s conservative parties after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’s center-left Labor party won a historic second term in the May 3 election, powered by a voter backlash against US President Donald Trump’s policies. Under the long-standing partnership in state and federal politics, the Liberal and National coalition had shared power
A Croatian town has come up with a novel solution to solve the issue of working parents when there are no public childcare spaces available: pay grandparents to do it. Samobor, near the capital, Zagreb, has become the first in the country to run a “Grandmother-Grandfather Service,” which pays 360 euros (US$400) a month per child. The scheme allows grandparents to top up their pension, but the authorities also hope it will boost family ties and tackle social isolation as the population ages. “The benefits are multiple,” Samobor Mayor Petra Skrobot told reporters. “Pensions are rather low and for parents it is sometimes
CONTROVERSY: During the performance of Israel’s entrant Yuval Raphael’s song ‘New Day Will Rise,’ loud whistles were heard and two people tried to get on stage Austria’s JJ yesterday won the Eurovision Song Contest, with his operatic song Wasted Love triumphing at the world’s biggest live music television event. After votes from national juries around Europe and viewers from across the continent and beyond, JJ gave Austria its first victory since bearded drag performer Conchita Wurst’s 2014 triumph. After the nail-biting drama as the votes were revealed running into yesterday morning, Austria finished with 436 points, ahead of Israel — whose participation drew protests — on 357 and Estonia on 356. “Thank you to you, Europe, for making my dreams come true,” 24-year-old countertenor JJ, whose
RSS