There were no drag queens in sexy ensembles with heavy makeup strutting down the streets in platform heels or buff shirtless sailor boys splayed like starfish on moving floats. But Hong Kong’s first official gay-pride parade Saturday was still a colorful gathering; in fact, for a country that rarely acknowledges homosexuality, let alone celebrates it, it was downright revolutionary.

For a few hours, a city that usually seems immune to surprises watched in awe as approximately 1,000 paradegoers stopped traffic, filled the streets and spread their message to “celebrate love.” A rainbow-colored dragon bobbed over the heads of carefully coiffed men donning dainty dresses and dancing to “Celebrate Pride,” which warbled through a loudspeaker in the center of the city. Men with fiery red-feathered tiaras chanted, “Pride parade! Pride parade! Pride parade!” in Cantonese and English while marching through Hong Kong’s congested Hennessy Road waving multicolored pride flags. (See TIME’s top 10 pictures of 2008.)

Although Hong Kong has held several small demonstrations against homophobia, this was the first parade solely dedicated to celebrating queer identity. “We came out today to show the world that people in the queer community are normal people too,” said Ariel Wong, a 21-year-old student at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University who wore a rainbow Afro wig and distributed stickers with pink hearts on them. The parade was co-organized by Rainbow of Hong Kong, Midnight Blue, Social Movement Resource Centre and the Women Coalition, with support from groups working on myriad issues, including civil rights, HIV/AIDS education and transgender awareness. It represented progress for China’s gay community, marking the first large-scale event of its kind in any major Chinese city (only Taipei has hosted similar events). Antonio Licon, a Web designer for Hong Kong Magazine who grew up in Hawaii, said, “I think socially there are a lot of pressures in Hong Kong to conform to expectations and not disappoint parents.”

People emerged from shops and restaurants to witness the historic event. While some spectators cheered in support, most looked confused and bewildered. “I never thought I would see this in Hong Kong,” said Kevin Li, a salesman who nevertheless believes the younger generation is less homophobic than the older one. “Our society has different values than the West regarding sex because we are more traditional and more Chinese.”

Yet it was Victorian colonial laws, not conservative Chinese attitudes, which first criminalized homosexuality. In 1901 British colonial laws threatened homosexuals with life imprisonment for anal intercourse and up to two years imprisonment for any so-called indecent acts involving two men, even if the acts occurred in the privacy of their home. In 1980, after an inspector of the Royal Hong Kong Police Force committed suicide as a group of officers were about to arrest him on suspicion of having engaged in homosexual activities, a debate sparked on legalizing homosexuality. Finally in 1991, after more than a decade of discussion, it was decriminalized.

But even if homosexuality is no longer a crime in Hong Kong, a stigma remains, as do discriminatory statutes with double standards. In 2005, Hong Kong–based civil rights attorney Michael Vidler successfully challenged a law that set the legal age of consent 21 for homosexuals (the age of consent for heterosexuals was 16), with a punishment of up to life in prison for violators. The law was ruled unconstitutional, but it has not been formally repealed.

“There are still archaic ideas of homosexuality as a form of gross indecency,” said Vidler, who said he has seen cases of discrimination against homosexuals in the work force and housing market. “Hong Kong says it’s a world city, but [it] has protocols in place that show it is still a backward country in regard to homosexuals’ rights.” Hong Kong lacks any non-discriminatory ordinance, and many locals still regard homosexuality with unease. Eric Herrera, a member of a white-collar gay-rights group called Fruits in Suits, which helped organize the parade, said, “I have no problem walking down the streets arm in arm with my partner of 21 years, but it makes many people very uncomfortable.”

 See A Gay-Pride Revolution in Hong Kong
TIME 

Two Ecuadorian brothers, Jose and Romel Sucuzhanay, were walking home early on the morning of Dec. 7, a little tipsy and arm-in-arm. That, allegedly, was enough to incite a group of men to physically assault them while shouting anti-gay and anti-Hispanic epithets.

Jose Sucuzhanay, 31, was declared brain-dead by doctors at Elmhurst Hospital Center two days later, and now the Brooklyn community where the attack took place is seeking arrests and answers.

The incident occurred about 3:30 a.m., when the two brothers were on their way home from a bar near the intersection of Bushwick Avenue and Kossuth Place in Bushwick. According to the New York Times, witnesses saw a maroon sport utility vehicle pull up to the Sucuzhanays on the sidewalk. Three men jumped out, yelling anti-gay and racist slurs. One man broke a beer bottle over Jose Sucuzhanay’s head from behind and knocked him down. See 1 Dead in Bushwick Bias Attack
The New York Blade, NY 

Jose Sucuzhanay was attacked as he walked arm-in-arm with his 38-year-old brother early Sunday in Brooklyn. He had been listed in critical condition after undergoing brain surgery at Elmhurst Hospital.

Family members held a news conference at midday Tuesday outside the Queens hospital to say he was clinging to life and the family had to make an important decision about what to do.

A law enforcement official, however, said that Sucuzhanay had been declared brain dead and was taken off life support Tuesday. He spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

The three assailants were still being sought.

The attack came less than three weeks after seven Long Island teenagers were charged in the fatal stabbing of another immigrant from Ecuador. Prosecutors said the defendants had been hanging out with friends when someone suggested they go find a Hispanic person to attack.

  See NYPD hunts for suspects in anti-gay, anti-Hispanic crime
New York Daily News, NY -