China's First Gay Internet Show Ends Season

Tongxing Xianglian, translated as "Connecting Homosexuals," China's first internet show about gay life in China made its debut in April of 2007. It wrapped up its 12-episode season with popular host Didier Zheng—an openly gay French teacher and AIDS activist. (shown right)

The Chinese government has loosened its policies about homosexuality in recent years to combat the HIV/AIDS crisis spreading throughout the country. Critics claim the lack of understanding about homosexuality and safer sex has contributed to a record number of new HIV cases.

According to Chinese news portal, ChinaDaily.com, the Chinese government took homosexuality off its list of mental illnesses in 2001 and Shanghai's Fudan University introduced its first undergraduate course on homosexuality in 2005.

More on Gay Life in China:
China is the forth-largest country in the world with a population of approximately 1.3 billion people. The Chinese forum portal ChinaBBS.com estimates that there could be as many as 30 million gays and lesbians living in China, although the actual number is unclear... read more

More on Gay Host Didier Zheng:
Didier Zheng, born 1980, was educated at the Sorbonne University in Paris. He returned to China in 2006. Zeng told ChinaDaily.com, "Society is changing. We are paying more attention to gay man's socialization and integration [into society]." Read more about Didier Zheng.

_{Image: Didier Zheng on Chinese gay internet show Tongxing Xianglian. ©China Photos/Getty Images.}