Singapore will do "whatever it takes" to attract talent, says
Vivian Balakrishnan, the government official in charge of the
Remaking Singapore Committee. As part of that effort, repressive
government policies previously enforced in the name of social
stability are being relaxed. The city now boasts seven saunas
catering almost exclusively to gay clients, for example, something
unthinkable even a few years ago. There are a sprinkling of gay
bars, and many dance clubs set aside one night each week for gay
customers. Prime Minister Goh says his government now allows gay
employees into its ranks, even in sensitive positions. The change
in policy, inspired at least in part by the desire not to exclude
talented foreigners who are gay, is being implemented without
fanfare, Goh says, to avoid raising the hackles of
more-conservative Singaporeans. "So let it evolve, and in time the
population will understand that some people are born that way," Goh
says. "We are born this way and they are born that way, but they
are like you and me."
http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501030707/sea_singapore.html
