Allan in a "Pink Dollar" TV segment in Hong Kong

Last Sunday week (1st November, 2009) I attended the 2nd Annual Gay Pride Parade here in Hong Kong. Because I was rushing around with my JOY 94.9 t-shirt on, and my microphone and recorder, I was approached by a couple of media representatives wanting to know who I was, and what I was doing in Hong Kong.

RTHK English Language television also briefly interviewed me, and then later asked for a further interview regarding the so-called "pink dollar" and how it is handled in other countries compared to the lack of business interest in it in Hong Kong. About 50 seconds of this subsequent interview was used in the weekly TV program "The Pulse" on Friday night, 6th November. The entire segment runs for 9 minutes, and initially covers Hong Kong's Pride Parade then moves into the topic of the "pink dollar" and the apparent lack of business support here for gay & lesbian events.

I get my 50 seconds of fame at 4' 25" into the segment. And if you keep watching the segment a little further (at 6' 39") you will see introduced "... a former organizer..." of an earlier attempt at a gay Pride Parade in Hong Kong in 2005. That "former organizer" is our very own Hong Kong correspondent, Reggie Ho, who also gives his views about the "pink dollar" here in Hong Kong. Regular Orange Ribbon listeners will know that Reggie occasionally provides a Hong Kong news update for us, and has done so for about 7 years now.

Anyway, if you wish you can check out the 9-minute segment from RTHK's "The Pulse" program from last Friday night by clicking here.

But try to ignore some of the mis-facts that were allegedly attributed to me though. They sort of got some of the statistics and facts I had given them a bit confused.

Allan Smales (In Hong Kong)