Hong Kong pop star denied entry to Malaysia for being gay

Famous Hong Kong pop star, Denise Ho, has been denied a work visa for Malaysia because she is a lesbian and advocates for the LGBT+ community.

Ho announced the news on her Facebook page yesterday: “I’m sorry, our world tour ‘dear self, dear world’ originally scheduled to be held on April 14th Malaysia concert was cancelled… After two weeks in co-operation, we received the official phone call, and my performance work permit was not passed, and my colleague, who answered the phone, told me that it was obstacle to my role in the LGBT community.

“I would be lying if I said I am not disappointed about being rejected for my identity. In this era, there are governments which reject foreign people, which are afraid of people speaking of the truth, and which suppress people’s self-identity. This is a struggle between the old system and the world – from another angle, this may be an inevitable process in the changing world.

It’s not a big deal that a concert cannot be held. But bans time-after-time have shown us – who live under relative freedom – that the civilization we take for granted is not so natural.”

This comes after a string of violent homophobic activity in the country; an 18-year-old boy was burnt alive last year because his classmates said he was gay. While a transgender woman was stabbed and shot a few months later in a targeted attack on her shop.

Homosexuality is still illegal in the country and carries with it a 20-year prison sentence.


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