War of words on gay rights


 

War of words on gay rights

 

 

 

War of words on gay rights

Lu Liping, a well-known Chinese actress, who is also a Christian, forwarded several micro blog entries of a priest against gays on 26th June and caused a mighty uproar on the Internet. Many stars and netizens expressed their concerns on this issue in the micro blogs.

 

Forwarded by Lu, the priest's micro blogs described the homosexual groups as "shame" and "sinner", one of which stated: "The New York State Assembly approved the legalization of gay marriage proposal last night. New York will become the sixth and most populous US state to allow gay marriage. May God have mercy on this falling land! Even if one day the law stipulates that opposition against homosexuals would be condemned, I still want to say: homosexuality is a sin. God loves sinners, but God hates SIN! "

 

In forwarding these blogs, Lu Liping added comments such as "Brothers and sisters, let everybody see this!", "Brilliant!" and other personal comments, which triggered fierce debate among netizens immediately. Many domestic gay organizations jointly called for a boycott of Lv's and Sun's (Lu's husband, a Chinese actor) works. 

 

In another entry, citing Romans 1:26-27: "Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error." Lu wrote that this was "very powerful and convincing".

 

She later denied that she discriminated against gay people, saying what she had done was "only retweet". Join the debate...

 

War of words on gay rights

 

 

 

Freedom of speech or lack of respect?

 

War of words on gay rights

Sun Haiying, Lu Liping's husband, who is an actor.

 

"She is entitled to her opinion. The Chinese character '好' (good) says it all. It comprises of '女' (female) and '子' (male). Only a female and a male is good." This is not the first time Sun has courted controversy on this issue. He created an uproar in 2007 when he labeled homosexuality a "sin against humanity," 

 VS.

War of words on gay rightsKevin Tsai, a popular TV host in Taiwan, who is openly homosexual.

 

"Some of your supporters are homosexual, no matter what your beliefs are, how can you call on others to discriminate against them? Many gay friends are still suffering from other's exclusion". He was optimistic that although "it may end in vain", the discussion generated from the online debate in response to Lu's comments "gives us a gleam of hope".

 

 

War of words on gay rights

Jianguo Jiye, Micro blog user 

 

"Micro blogs provide a platform for us to present ourselves and everyone has a right to voice their concerns. Lu and Sun did not do anything wrong, they just expressed their own opinions. Please respect their rights and personalities!" 

VS. 

War of words on gay rights

Cheng Qingsong, film critic and playwright, who is openly homosexual

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 "Do Sun Haiying and Lu Liping think that we should delete the plot description of same sex in the Dream of Red Mansions? That we must call them sinners when we see Pai Hsien-yung, Kevin Tsai, and Ricky Martin? That we should condemn Liu Ye, Chen Sicheng, Tony Leung, and Vivian Chow for their gay roles in the movies? That we should ban Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain in the whole world?"

 

Nature or Nuture?

 

War of words on gay rights

Gu Baochang, professor of sociology at Renmin University of China.

 

 "In my opinion, nobody has the right to call gay people criminals and ask them to be 'corrected'. But Lu has her own opinion, and she should have the freedom to express it. You may agree or disagree with her, but you cannot stop her from expressing herself."

 

War of words on gay rights

Song Dandan, famous actress.

 

"It's in our genes. Why should we go against our own nature? Love is the best gift bestowed by God. No matter it's heterosexual or homosexual, as long as it's true love, it should be blessed." "They ought to shut up."

 

Christian beliefs or Bigotry?

 

War of words on gay rights

Li Yinhe, leading sexologist. 

 

"Lu's opinions were cliched, ignorant and backward. Not all Christians are against homosexuality. Lu should consider her own status. She's a public figure, and it is unforgivable for her to express such biased opinions."

 

War of words on gay rightsChristine Fan, pop singer in Taiwan

 

"I am a Christian, too. But I support gay friends, and this does not conflict with my religion. On the contrary, it makes me realize that God's love is omnipresent in this great world, and I am happy about that.”

 

 

War of words on gay rights

 

 

 

While the storm may have died down for now, no one can guarantee whether it will resurface or not in the future.

 

War of words on gay rights

In an online investigation entitled "Do you support Lu or Tsai?" on one of China's largest portals sina.com.cn, more than 60,000 netizens casted their votes. According to the latest result, more than 70 percent of voters support Tsai whereas 15 percent support Lu. About 47 percent think there is no difference between heterosexuals and homosexuals. Six percent oppose homosexuals and five percent feel it has nothing to do with them.

 

In this war on micro blogs, the majority show their support of homosexuals. Most people think that one may disagree with homosexuals' lifestyle, but malicious slander should be forbidden. After all, everyone has the right to choose.