Alex Au
Born1952 (1952) (age 72)
Singapore
NationalitySingapore Singaporean
Other namesYawning Bread
Alma materAnglo-Chinese School
National University of Singapore
Websitewww.yawningbread.org (defunct)[1]

Alex Au Waipang, (simplified Chinese: 区伟鹏; traditional Chinese: 區偉鵬; pinyin: Ōu Wěi Péng) also known by his Internet pseudonym as Yawning Bread, is an advocate of LGBT rights in Singapore. Au is a blogger and activist who provides analyses of Singaporean politics, culture, gay issues and miscellaneous subjects on his blog.[2][3][4][5][6] He is also the co-author of two books, People Like Us: Sexual Minorities in Singapore[7] and a French-language treatise on homophobia entitled L'Homophobie.

He was the owner of Rairua,[8] Singapore's first nude gay sauna.[9]

Biography

Au, of Cantonese descent, was born in Singapore in 1952. He attended the Anglo-Chinese School for his primary and secondary education and obtained his tertiary degree from the National University of Singapore. After graduation, he worked in a managerial position at a British multinational corporation before branching out on his own as the proprietor of several business catering to the gay community, as well as freelance writing.[10] He was one of the founding members, along with Joseph Lo and Dr. Russell Heng, of Singapore's main gay equality lobby group People Like Us,[11] and also the founder and list owner of the Singapore Gay News List (SiGNeL), the first discussion forum for Singapore's gay community.[6] In 2002, he was presented with the Utopia award for outstanding contributions towards the advancement of gay equality in Asia.[12]

In July 2003, Au was identified by the now-defunct Channel i as a gay activist.[13][14] His views were solicited in the wake of Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong's recent announcement that the hiring of gays in the civil service would henceforth be liberalized.[14] In the run-up to the 2006 Singapore general election, Au provided extensive coverage of the opposition parties' rallies which were attended by large crowds.[15][16] Au used his connections with People Like Us and with leading practitioners in the local gay arts scene to organize IndigNation, Singapore's first gay pride month in 2005[17] and Short Circuit, Singapore's first gay film festival in 2006.[7]

In July 2012, the attorney general's chambers wrote to Au, demanding that he take down and apologize for a June 2012 post in his Yawning Bread blog that criticized the judiciary for showing deference to the executive. Au promptly removed the post. In October 2014, Senior State Counsel Tai Wei Shyong, acting for the attorney-general, urged the High Court to hold Au in contempt of court for two Yawning Bread articles that made it seem that there is a "systemic bias" in Singapore's judiciary against cases involving homosexuality. In his defence, Au's lawyers, Peter Low and Choo Zheng Xi, accused the AG of being "trigger-happy" in taking their client to court on "imputation, innuendo and insinuation".[18] On 22 January 2015, Au was held to be guilty of scandalising the court in respect of one of his two Yawning Bread articles, and cleared of the second charge. The Court of Appeal rejected his appeal on 1 December 2015.[19][20]

References

  1. ↑ "Yawning Bread". 2017-06-11. Archived from the original on 2017-06-11. Retrieved 2022-11-26.
  2. ↑ Mydans, Seth (2011-05-07). "Singapore Loosens Grip on the Internet". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  3. ↑ "Singapore court convicts dissident blogger for contempt". Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  4. ↑ "Singapore blogger Alex Au fined for 'scandalising' judiciary". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  5. ↑ Wembridge, Mark (2015-09-10). "Singapore's social media abuzz ahead of election". Financial Times. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  6. 1 2 Offord, Baden (2003). Chris Berry; Fran Martin; Audrey Yue (eds.). Mobile cultures: new media in queer Asia. Duke University Press. pp. 144–151. ISBN 978-0-8223-3087-5.
  7. 1 2 Ng, Yi-Sheng (2006). SQ21: Singapore queers in the 21st century. Oogachaga Counseling & Support. ISBN 978-981-05-6205-2.
  8. ↑ "Police arrest four men in Singapore sauna". www.fridae.asia. Fridae. 28 April 2005. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  9. ↑ Jackson, Peter A. (2011). Queer Bangkok: 21st Century Markets, Media, and Rights. Hong Kong University Press. ISBN 978-988-8083-04-6.
  10. ↑ Fridae bibliography
  11. ↑ Peterson, William (2001). Theater and the politics of culture in contemporary Singapore. Wesleyan University Press. pp. 134–135. ISBN 978-0-8195-6472-6.
  12. ↑ "Utopia Awards 2002". Utopia Asia. Archived from the original on 8 April 2009. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  13. ↑ "PM Goh Chok Tong liberalises employment of homosexuals in civil service (min 1:12)". Youtube. 7 July 2011. Archived from the original on 2021-01-30.
  14. 1 2 "OK to have gays in civil service: singapore PM". www.fridae.asia. Retrieved 2020-11-20.
  15. ↑ Alex Au (6 May 2006). "Report : On Hougang field". yawningbread.org. Yawning Bread. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  16. ↑ Alex Au (6 March 2006). "Photo On Hougang field". Yawning Bread. Archived from the original (JPG) on 19 June 2014. Retrieved 28 July 2014.
  17. ↑ "GLBT Guide to Gay & Lesbian Life in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia". gaywired.com. 27 April 2006. Archived from the original on 18 May 2006. Retrieved 2009-04-05.
  18. ↑ Lum, Selina (24 October 2014). "Blogger accused of painting 'distorted picture' of judiciary". Singapore Press Holdings. The Straits Times. Archived from the original on 5 November 2014. Retrieved 27 October 2014.
  19. ↑ Lum, Selina. "Blogger Alex Au loses appeal against conviction for contempt of court". Straits Times. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  20. ↑ "Blogger Alex Au found guilty of court contempt for one of two articles". 22 January 2015.
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