Straits Times / Singapore June 17, 2011 Hong Kong government hires 'gay conversion expert'
HONG KONG - HONG Kong has hired a prominent local psychiatrist who claims he can 're-wire' homosexuals as a trainer for its social welfare staff, sparking outrage among gay rights activists on Friday. Critics said the move could be the world's first government-sponsored training session on gay conversion therapy, which includes prayer, cold showers and practising abstinence as a way to avoid same-sex relationships. 'The government seems to think that homosexuals are possessed by evil spirits and needed to be 'cleansed' or 'cured' through conversion therapy,' Joseph Cho, a spokesman for gay rights group Rainbow Action, told reporters during a protest outside the city's Social Welfare Department on Friday. 'They are criminalising people with same sex orientation - this is an international joke,' he added. Psychiatrist Hong Kwai-wah, who specialises in 'treating unwanted homosexuality,' gave a two-and-a-half hour talk to staff at the former British colony's social welfare office on Friday. Mr Hong is chairman of the New Creation Association, whose mission is 'to help people struggling with homosexuality and diffuse their inner dilemmas, rewire their mental state as well as propagate the belief that homosexuals can change,' according to its website. -- AFP -- Centroids: The Center of the Radical Centrist Community <[email protected]> Google Group: http://groups.google.com/group/RadicalCentrism Radical Centrism website and blog: http://RadicalCentrism.org
