On July 1, Britain gave Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China and local gays are more than a little worried about their futures.

Hong Kong legalized gay sex in 1991 and gay life has begun to look like it does in most of the world's more-prosperous nations. In mainland China, on the other hand, homosexuals sometimes still face prison and forced shock treatment.

"Of all the people in Hong Kong to worry about communist rule, gays probably have the most to fear," Toronto's Globe and Mail said recently.

"Deep down, we're scared," one Hong Kong gay man, Tim, told the paper. "Everyone is just celebrating [the handover to China] on the surface. We know it's very bad."

"I think the gay community will go underground now," added Andy, a 19-year-old airline manager.

In an e-mail message, Julian Chan, head of the Hong Kong gay group Isvara, detailed some of the concerns.

"Though there isn't any law about gay in PR China, we all know that Beijing government is homophobic and nasty to gay population, and the new administration which lead by Tung Chee Hwa seem having a good 'obey' to Beijing," he wrote.

"For sure gay bar, Kara.O.K., sauna and disco can still run their business, but will there be raid? Do all 14 existing gay groups have to re-register? Will there be any difficulty for registration of new gay group and application of gay public gathering? ... Will gay rights movement be labeled as 'human rights action' and [thus] sentenced as 'danger to nation's security and social order?' "

Turkish transsexual gay leader Demet Demir, a winner of this year's International Gay & Lesbian Human Rights Commission award for outstanding contributions to the movement, was taken into custody by Istanbul police July 12.

The arresting officers said Demir had "insulted the police."

A spokesman for the gay group Lambda Istanbul said the arrest was probably related to a July 7 TV program, "A Team," in which Demir complained of police mistreatment of transvestites and transsexuals.

"Lambda Istanbul is not hopeful about her situation at the police station," the spokesman said. "We assume that she is being treated awfully and she may get lost before she gets out of the station."

Lambda can be reached at turkiye@qrd.org

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Rex Wockner's International News dating back to mid-1994 is searchable at http:/www.wockner.com

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