Winners of the country's first award for homosexuality studies were announced in Shanghai yesterday, with eight final prize winners presenting papers on the topic.

And the ability to hold such a competition in China was in itself a sign of progress, said To Chung, chairman of contest organizer Chi Heng Foundation, a Hong Kong-based non-governmental organization.

"Papers have taken on a new look at perspectives and methods, which demonstrates that attention and research on homosexuality have reached a new height," To said.

The eight prize-winning papers explored the existence of homosexuality in China from different perspectives of sociology, mass communications, film reviews, law and other disciplines.

Most of the eight prize winners are faculty and postgraduate students at domestic universities, the organizer said.

Winners were given a cash prize of up to 2,000 yuan (US$264).

"Homosexuality studies are a very meaningful but young battlefield which enable us to explore a more diversified society," said Zhou Dan, a local lawyer and one of the members of the jury. "The award helped the majority of people to understand gays and lesbians better and contribute to a more tolerant social environment," he added.

Yang Tianhua, a postgraduate student at Beijing's Communication University of China, won a prize with his paper "The medium for constructing the image of the homosexual community" - a research report on homosexual topics found in traditional media on the Chinese mainland.

Wei Wei, a sociology teacher at Shanghai University who won a prize, said he wished to share common research interests with other scholars by taking part in the award.

Paper topics could include homosexual health, rights and interests, networks, community development and other related content.

By April 1, more than 70 papers had been submitted before they were passed on for evaluation by a panel headed by celebrated Taiwan writer Pai Hsiun-yung.

The search for contestants was launched in September last year.

To said he planned to make the award an annual event. The Chi Heng Foundation is also launching an award for homosexuality coverage among the mainland media to promote public understanding of the topic.

(Shanghai Daily September 10, 2007)