China loves a man with a flame:

A handsome but anonymous guardian of the Olympics torch on its troubled world tour has won legions of Chinese female fans — and plenty of marriage proposals.

Known only as "Second Brother on the Right" because of his customary position by the flame, the young man with boyish looks and cropped hair is an Internet sensation and nationalist hero.
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"We love him not only because he is so handsome but because he represents the pride of China," one female blogger wrote.

North Korean premiere Kim Jong-il is said to be insanely jealous.

The Chinese government will begin a "gender determination" process for female athletes to make sure they're not too manly:

Experts at the lab, located at the Peking Union Medical College Hospital, will evaluate cases based on their external appearance and take blood samples to test hormones, genes and chromosomes…
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The concept has drawn criticism over the years, largely because certain chromosomal abnormalities may cause a woman to fail a test, even though it gives her no competitive advantage. Also, if a female athlete fails a test she must have a physiological examination, which many consider invasive and a privacy violation.
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At the 1996 Atlanta Games, eight athletes failed the tests but were all cleared by subsequent examinations. Santhi Soundarajan, a middle-distance runner from India, was stripped of an Asian Games silver medal in 2006 after failing a gender verification test.

We wonder where a post-op male-to-female would stand…

Lesbianism's for the birds. In a good way, of course.

Displeased with their prearranged male partners, two red-crested cranes over at a Chinese bird sanctuary decided to get together. And sanctuary officials don't sound too happy:

Two red-crested cranes living in a bird sanctuary in Changsha, capital of Hunan province, have been observed as living in a state of gay-mate ship owing to the absence of attractive male partners. The day after meeting and being distinctly unimpressed with male cranes Chong Chong and Ming Ming, hens Huan Huan and Xi Xi opted to rely upon each other for sex and survival.

Local zoologists say it is extremely rare for cranes to enter into this kind of relationship.

The sanctuary has appealed to the public for help and is in touch with other mainland bird parks in an effort to find suitable spouses for the park's four cranes.

Huan Huan and Xi Xi sure have some challenges on their hands (claws?), but let's hope the ladies can overcome this adversity.

Gay former b-baller John Amaechi's on a new mission.

The Briton will travel to China this summer as Amnesty International's sports ambassador. And, knowing that many people oppose China's questionable human rights policies, or lack thereof, Amaechi's instructing athletes to join the debate:

People who have issues with the policies and behavior of the Chinese authorities should speak out.

I would encourage athletes not to distract themselves by burying themselves in the facts and figures and legislation of China but simply to acknowledge that being an ambassador for human rights in China is the most Olympian thing to do. Anything less than that is not being a true Olympian no matter the color of the medal that you hold up.

To those of you who don't win medals - feel free to keep a lid on it.

There are many ways to say “Boycott the Beijing Olympics,” but which is the most effective?

Perhaps it’s all those clever plays on the Olympics logo – HANDCUFFS! SKULLS! – that tickle our fancy and, based on our television viewing experience, get the most attention during local TV spots coverage protests at various Olympics ceremonies and torch runnings.

So what do all these Olympics boycott images look like?

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There may be more reason to protest the Beijing-hosted Olympic games. Former government official and gay activist Dr. Wan Yanhai claims the government has launched a homophobic crackdown ahead of the athletic festivities. And he's not the only one:

In his email about the new anti-gay crackdown, Wan detailed several of the police raids. They began on March 9 when police invaded Destination, Beijing's most popular gay nightspot.
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A foreigner residing in Beijing who had spoken to a number of Chinese gays said by telephone, "The authorities have begun this so-called clean-up to signal to Chinese gays that they better be really discreet and invisible during the Beijing Olympics. The government is very suspicious of anyone or anything that they do not consider normal or in keeping with official standards for correct conduct…"

The move would be especially queer considering the government's recent push to incorporate men who have sex with men into their HIV/AIDS campaigns.

This weekend saw some rabble-rousing in London, where thousands of activists took to the streets to protest Olympic host China's perpetual oppression of Tibet.

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Communist China continues to make headway in the fight against HIV/AIDS. After years of deadly silence, officials only recently began opening queer clinics and encouraging safe sex. Now they're ramping up their efforts:

The policy will incorporate detailed HIV/AIDS prevention measures for MSM (men who have sex with men) including extending the use of condoms, according to the ministry's work plan for disease prevention and control in 2008.

China has decided to intensify its AIDS intervention campaign on MSM by carrying out AIDS prevention training among the gay population nationwide as well as conducting consultation, HIV/AIDS tests, venereal disease treatment in some areas, the ministry said.

11.1% of the estimated 700,000 infected Chinese citizens are MSM. Only 10-to-20% say they use condoms.

Time magazine spends some time this week looking at gay life in Communist China: a delicate balance, to be sure:

There's never been a better time to be gay in China, but as [gay club] Destination's somewhat schizophrenic combination of outer reserve and inner exuberance demonstrates, it still pays to be careful. Beijing's attitude has been described as a Triple No policy: no approval, no disapproval, no promotion. That hands off approach — a sort of commercial don't ask, don't tell policy — is emblematic of the delicacy with which the Communist regime is learning to deal with many of the issues concerning personal liberties that are increasingly being raised by its burgeoning middle class.

For their part, homosexuals in China seem perfectly happy to pursue their lives within the broad boundaries allowed by the government, albeit not without the occasional snipe at the authorities. It's no coincidence, for example, that the once ubiquitous term tongzhi — comrade — is now only heard as a slang term among young Chinese for gay men.

Despite the limited limitations, gay activists and citizens claim things are getting "freer and freer" with the passage of time. They'll be ruling the world in no time!

Filmmaker Ruby Yang enjoys controversy. The Chinese American's nationals previous film caused a stir by tracking AIDS orphans. Now she's looking at how the Communist Government's reproductive laws lead to multiple lives:

"There's a lot of pressure to produce an heir," Yang says. "Many gay men are married and live a double life. They lie to their parents, lie to their wives."

The half-hour film, provisionally called Double Life, is expected to be completed by May, but Yang is not counting on a public release in China. Instead, she hopes the film will get exposure on the international festival circuit.

We've no doubt Yang will get her wish: her aforementioned AIDS-orphan movie won an Academy Award.

Mitt Romney isn't the only Mormon making headlines! A big queer congratulations to 22-year old homo-Mormo Todd Herzog, who won Survivor: China. And all it took was a bit of deceit!

Todd Herzog, a longtime fan of Survivor, won the CBS reality show's $1 million prize after 39 days of lying and scheming.

"I wasn't the strongest. I wasn't the smartest," Herzog said during the finale. "But I was definitely the most strategic."

The 22-year-old flight attendant from Pleasant Grove, Utah, bested his Survivor: China allies Courtney Yates, a 26-year-old waitress from New York, and Amanda Kimmel, a 23-year-old hiking guide and former beauty queen from Los Angeles.
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"I knew that the second that I got out there that, no matter what it took, I would do everything that I possibly could to be sitting right here," Herzog said after the votes were revealed.

That meant teaming up with Kimmel on the first day of the competition and aligning himself with both weaker and stronger players to deflect any attention away from himself.

"I can't believe it worked," he said.

Three cheers for money-hungry manipulation!!

Asia-Pacific nations must do more to fight HIV or face certain doom, a UN-backed group says.

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China's slowly but surely lifting the wall on HIV. The communist nation announced that it will ease restrictions on international HIV-infected travelers.

Under a 1994 law, foreigners applying for a residency permit in China must take an HIV test. Visitors to the country are asked to declare whether they have the virus - and can be refused entry or deported if they do. The law also affects those with other sexually transmitted diseases or tuberculosis.

But Mao said China's attitudes have changed. "At present, we are considering, and we are changing the present regulation that stops foreigners with HIV and AIDS from entering the country, and this job is under way.

The nation also made headlines this year when it committed to distributing condoms in public arenas. Chinese officials have not yet said when they'll alter the laws. Those commies sure do play their cards close…