DOZENS ARRESTED IN SHANGHAI GAY BAR RAID

Over 60 people were arrested during a raid on a new gay bar in Shanghai, China, over the weekend, apparently over suspicion of it staging “pornographic” shows, reports Shanghaiist.com.

According to the site, a raid on a gay establishment the size of Q Bar has not taken place in the city since 2007.

A number of employees, including a go-go boy, and the two owners of the venue were also arrested. Foreigners at the Bund riverfront bar were apparently not detained.

Patrons tweeted throughout the incident, with some reporting that they were held in cells for 10 to 12 hours with nothing to eat or drink.

“In the ten plus hours we were locked up, we were kept without food or water, and this is inexcusable,” tweeted @Xiaowuzhi. “Police attitude was also extremely rough! 60-70 people all cold and hungry and thirsty and tired. What law have we broken just drinking at a bar?”

Another patron, @hotboyjerry, said: “I just went to the bar for a drink! What crime did I commit?! Did I accept bribes? Abuse my power? Commit arson? Or sell counterfeit products? Was I in the wrong just because I went to a gay bar?”

The patrons were questioned, photographed and their ID numbers recorded. They said they were questioned about the go-go boy’s performance and whether nudity was involved in his act.

Most of the arrested people have now reportedly been released.

Homosexuality was decriminalised in China in 1997 but the government remains ambiguous in its treatment of the LGBT community. In January 2010, an attempt to hold the first Mr Gay China pageant in Beijing was scrapped after arrested in a cruising spot in the city.