bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

quizIds

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Reuters

SCMP’s Asia desk

Socially-conservative Singapore on Wednesday said it “noted with regret” that the US embassy in the city state had co-hosted a webinar with a local LGBT support group earlier this week.
Multi-ethnic Singapore has strict laws regulating public assembly. Foreigners are prohibited from taking part in events dealing with a political cause.
“Ministry of foreign affairs has reminded the US Embassy that foreign missions here are not to interfere in our domestic social and political matters, including issues such as how sexual orientation should be dealt with in public policy,” it said in a statement.
“These are choices for only Singaporeans to debate and decide.” The May 17 webinar marked the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia and focused on the economic advantages of LGBTQI+ equality and inclusion around the world, the US embassy in Singapore said.
Singapore PM pushes for foreign talent, says LGBT people welcome
LGBTQI refers to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning and/or queer and intersex.
“The US Embassy regularly works with civil society partners on a wide range of issues to build awareness and advance the human rights of all persons,” it added. The event was co-hosted with support group Oogachaga.
Under a rare colonial-era law, Section 377A of the penal code, sex between men is punishable by up to two years in jail, though prosecutions are rare. Previous attempts to overturn the legislation have failed.
Oogachaga’s Executive Director Leow Yangfa said the organisation “notes with surprise” the Singapore government’s statement.
Leow said none of the speakers in the invitation-only webinar discussed how sexual orientation should be dealt with in public policy.


The webinar, featuring University of Massachusetts Amherst professor Lee Badgett, involved discussion of the renowned academic’s book, according to Leow’s comments to national broadcaster CNA.
He said: “The event was invitation-only, and moderated by an Oogachaga volunteer, a Singapore citizen who reminded multinational corporations to consult local community organisations and to always abide by the laws of the territories in which they operate, especially in Singapore.”
The activist added that no financial remuneration was received from the US government and that invitations to the event were extended to the Singapore foreign ministry as well as the ministry of social and family development.
He told CNA at least two officers from the ministry of social and family development were in the audience.
Singapore podcast gives LGBT people a voice by breaking taboos
The episode comes ahead of this year’s edition of Pink Dot Sg – Singapore’s main lesbian, gay bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) affirming rally.
The June 13 event, now in its 13th year and which has previously drawn crowds of over 20,000 people, will be online-only for the second year running due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Previous in-person editions took place at Hong Lim Park, the republic’s sole free-speech zone.
Amid the rise in Pink Dot’s stature, the government in 2017 imposed restrictions on foreign participation, with non-citizens barred from taking part in the rally.
Foreign companies like Facebook, JP Morgan and Google which had previously been sponsoring the event were also told not to do so.
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong had previously said he was prepared to live with the “uneasy compromise” of living with Section 377A “until social attitudes change”.
Along with the retention of Section 377A, which the government says it retains on the books for “symbolic” purposes but will not enforce, LGBTQ people in Singapore say they are disadvantaged by certain policies aimed at incentivising heterosexual marriage and childbearing.


After the fanfare, what did China’s Xi Jinping achieve on his trip to Southeast Asia?

Johor-Singapore SEZ offers new hope amid US-China tariff war, deputy PM Gan Kim Yong says

Will red tape snarl Malaysia’s concert hub plans to emulate Singapore?

Asia-Pacific office tenants eye flexible spaces, short leases as trade war pressures rents

Singapore

Singapore warns US embassy over webinar with LGBT group

Participants at the Pink Dot Sg rally in Singapore in 2017. Photo: AFP

Why Southeast Asia’s LGBT community is finally coming out

A supporter attends the annual Pink Dot event in support of the LGBT community in Singapore. Photo: AFP

Joshua Simon. Photo: Handout

Antoni Porowski with Yoko Sakuma in the Netflix miniseries Queer Eye: We’re in Japan! Photo: Netflix

A man accused of having gay sex is publicly caned by a member of the Sharia police in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Photo: AFP

A pro-gay marriage demonstrator tries to stabilize a giant rainbow flag. Photo: EPA

Muslim protesters hold an anti-LGBT rally outside a mosque in Banda Aceh, Indonesia. Photo: Reuters

People attend Pink Dot, an annual event organised in support of the LGBT community in Singapore. Photo: Reuters

Vietnamese transgender performer La Kim Quyen hosts a lotto show in Binh Duong province. Photo: AFP

Why some members of Singapore’s LGBT community prefer life in the shadows

Some in Singapore worry about a backlash against LGBT activism. Photo: EPA

Gay fathers

epa04286844 An aerial handout photo provided by Pink Dot Sg shows participants forming a giant pink dot during the Pink Dot event at the Speakers' Corner in Hong Lim Park in Singapore, 28 June 2014. The annual Pink Dot Sg event is the closest thing Singapore has to a gay pride parade which promotes an acceptance of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in Singapore. About 26,000 people filled Hong Lim Park, the only place where public assemblies can take place without a permit, dressed in pink in support of Pink Dot's message: 'freedom to love'. EPA/PINK DOT SG / HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Participants dressed in pink pose for a photograph at the annual "Pink Dot" event in a public show of support for the LGBT community at Hong Lim Park in Singapore on June 13, 2015. The event, which is a play on Singapore's nickname -- "The Little Red Dot" on the world map -- has grown in stature since its first edition in 2009, when 2,500 people attended. AFP PHOTO / MOHD FYROL / AFP PHOTO / MOHD FYROL

A supporter attends the annual "Pink Dot" event in a public show of support for the LGBT community at Hong Lim Park in Singapore on July 1, 2017. Thousands of Singaporeans took part in the gay-rights rally on July 1. / AFP PHOTO / Roslan RAHMAN

News

Asia

Southeast Asia

The invitation-only event was held on Monday and co-hosted by the US embassy and local LGBT support group Oogachaga
Singapore’s foreign ministry said it reminded the embassy that ‘foreign missions here are not to interfere in our domestic social and political matters’


The invitation-only event was held on Monday and co-hosted by the US embassy and local LGBT support group Oogachaga.


Singapore warns US embassy over webinar with LGBT group

The invitation-only event was held on Monday and co-hosted by the US embassy and local LGBT support group Oogachaga Singapore’s foreign ministry said it reminded the embassy that ‘foreign missions here are not to interfere in our domestic social and political matters’

The invitation-only event was held on Monday and co-hosted by the US embassy and local LGBT support group Oogachaga

Singapore’s foreign ministry said it reminded the embassy that ‘foreign missions here are not to interfere in our domestic social and political matters’