Yeah, I have brought up this
topic in a different thread and was waiting for someone to catch on
to it. Do Singaporeans think the government has not thought of this
measure if they have already posed the question of casino to the
public?
To me, the casino issue is a test-bed for the government to see how
far Singaporeans will accept their suggestions. When has social
costs prevented economic development in Singapore?
Has anybody walked down the Esplanade lately? You can see naked
statues all around. That can be called art, and also a way to
prepare society for changes to come. And Singaporeans better expect
it. In fact, it has already began, although as usual, carried out
in low profile manner by the media.....
The Wall Street Journal
October 22, 2004
For Its Own Reasons, Singapore Is Getting Rather Gay-Friendly
Tourist Dollars Are Part of It, But There Still Are Limits;
Renaming a 'Military' Ball
By GORDON FAIRCLOUGH
Staff Reporter of The Wall Street Journal
SINGAPORE -- This famously stodgy city-state is becoming an
unlikely center of gay culture in Asia.
Nearly 8,000 gay men from around the world flocked to a beach
resort here in August for an all-night party timed to coincide with
Singapore's National Day. Laser lights played across the bodies of
revelers, many shirtless and some stripped down to their Speedos,
as they danced through the humid tropical night.
Gay bars, dance clubs and about a half-dozen bathhouses have sprung
up. This past summer, the national art museum even featured an
exhibit of homoerotic photos.
"Singapore's become much more tolerant and open," says Sean Ho,
surveying the raucous scene at the dance party. Mr. Ho, a
33-year-old information-technology consultant, was decked out in a
T-shirt proclaiming "Choose Sin" in large, red letters and "gapore"
in smaller print. "They are giving us a lot more space," he
says.
The driving force behind this change appears to be economic. One
consideration: reaping so-called pink dollars from gay tourists.
The August dance party and related events, including plays and art
exhibitions with gay themes, pulled in about 2,500 foreign visitors
and about $6 million, according to event organizers.
Singapore's more relaxed attitude toward homosexuality is also part
of a broader government strategy to transform the small former
British colony into a creative, idea-driven economy. That,
Singapore's leaders realize, will require some loosening up, as
well as a serious effort to change the world's perception of
Singapore as a rigid, authoritarian place.
Singaporeans have long accepted a high degree of social control in
exchange for state-delivered prosperity. But that is evolving as
more Singaporeans are being exposed to the outside world through
the Internet, travel and the globalized media.
Those same forces have awakened gay people in Singapore and across
Asia to the greater acceptance of homosexuals in the West and
elsewhere, encouraging more to live openly and demand civil
liberties.
Once a taboo topic in Singapore, homosexuality has had a lot of
attention in the local press. The cover of a weekly magazine
recently touted the feature "Queer Eye for a Straight Nation." One
commentator in the article suggested the new prime minister, Lee
Hsien Loong, could improve his look by opting for a wardrobe of
"all white leather."
The official Singapore Tourism Board commissioned a study of last
year's Nation party, which looked at "the potential of tapping on
these attendees to bring in tourism receipts." This year, the
tourism board advertised the event under the headline "Party All
the Time."
While some gay Singaporeans don't like the focus on the pink
dollar, others see the profit motive as an avenue for gaining
expanded rights. "It's highly unlikely we'll ever get gay rights on
the grounds of civil liberties," says Dominic Chua, a 29-year-old
schoolteacher. "The only appeal that seems to work is a pragmatic
one that relies on dollars and cents."
In fact, the government remains decidedly ambivalent about gay
people. In an interview last year, then-Prime Minister Goh Chok
Tong said that gays "are like you and me" and shouldn't face
discrimination in the civil service. But laws prohibiting
homosexual acts remain on the books.
The government has also refused to register a group campaigning for
equal rights for gays, saying that it is "contrary to public
interest to grant legitimacy to the promotion of homosexual
activities and viewpoints." Under Singapore law, societies must
register with the government. Recently, censors banned a Taiwanese
film about two gay teens, saying it "conveys the message that
homosexuality is normal."
"This place is full of contradictions," says Stuart Koe, chief
executive officer of Fridae.com, a gay Web portal with its main
office in Singapore, and the organizer of the August parties.
"Change at the grass roots is outpacing change at the policy level.
But things are moving in the right direction."
Many things, such as a gay-pride parade, remain out of bounds.
Arjan Nijen Twilhaar, editor in chief of gay-oriented magazine
Manazine RA, says officials have warned him against "promoting a
gay lifestyle," and have objected to photos of "too skimpy"
underwear in an ad. "You are always on thin ice," says Mr. Nijen
Twilhaar, "and you never know when it's going to crack."
August's dance parties got official scrutiny, too. A "Military
Ball" planned this year had to be renamed. Police said they were
concerned that guests might inadvertently break the law by wearing
uniforms without authorization -- an offense in Singapore. Nation
organizers say authorities also objected to anti-AIDS campaigners
handing out condoms and pamphlets. The local police objected to the
materials "based on the misunderstanding that they promoted gay
sex," Mr. Koe says. The distribution ceased, but the police said in
a statement that they did not request "the removal of any
booth."
Critics of the government say all this smacks of hypocrisy. The
government is content to let gay bathhouses with names such as
TowelClub and Raw exist in the center of town, but loath, say some
activists, to give gays permission for much besides sex, dancing
and drinking.
"Entertainment doesn't challenge their political dominance," says
Alex Au, a leader of People Like Us, the group that the government
won't register, thus limiting its ability to raise funds and hold
public meetings. The group is seeking the repeal of colonial-era
antisodomy laws, which generally aren't enforced against consenting
adults.
Of the government, Mr. Au says, "they are driven by economic
imperatives. But they're trying to do the absolute minimum they can
get away with, so it doesn't chip away at their ability to control
the political agenda." Mr. Au believes the government blocked
registration of his group not because it represents gays, but
because it is independent: "They dislike any organization they
can't co-opt or control fully."
A spokesman for Singapore's Ministry of Home Affairs says: "Many
Singaporeans continue to voice their objections to displays of
homosexual behavior. There are certain things that homosexuals want
which are not feasible now," including the setting up of a
society.
In many ways, the 32-year-old Mr. Koe and his enterprises are
emblematic of the shifts that are taking place. Mr. Koe, who has
been openly homosexual since he was a teenager, spent six years at
the University of Minnesota, where he earned a doctorate in
pharmacy before returning to Singapore in 1997. He worked in the
life-sciences division of the government's Economic Development
Board before leaving to start Fridae, one of the largest
gay-oriented Web sites in Asia.
Mr. Koe, who lives with his partner, another executive at Fridae,
says: "Sometimes, we ask ourselves: 'Is it futile? Should we just
move to New York where people get it?' " For now, however, they
have decided to stay. "At the end of the day, I'm quite happy to be
here. It's gratifying to see the changes and be a part of it," he
says.
