Anticipation Over China Visit by Iceland’s Leader (and Her Wife)

BEIJING â€" Will China’s state media show Jonina Leosdottir, the wife of the prime minister of Iceland, Johanna Sigurdardottir, during an official visit to China in mid-April If so, how will she be portrayed, given China’s apparent conversion to First Ladyism in the form of the recent high profile given to the wife of President Xi Jinping, the singer Peng Liyuan

Proponents of gay marriage here plan to watch closely how the state broadcaster, CCTV, handles coverage of the Icelandic visit, since gay marriage is not legal in China but there is pressure from some parts of society to legalize it. In recent years, many gay couples have held unofficial betrothal ceremonies around the country.

The Chinese state largely tolerates â€" or ignores â€" homosexual behavior in private, and has in recent years increasingly addressed the issues facing the gay community when they relate to H.I.V. infection or AIDS. However, being openly gay is still taboo here, especially in official circles. Homosexuality was effectively decriminalized in China in 1997 and was removed from the official list of mental disorders in 2001.

Reflecting that situation, quite some interest in the question of the Icelandic leader’s visit has sprung up in Chinese social media since Sunday, as news spread that she would be accompanied by her wife of 13 years, according to an announcement by the prime minister’s office in Reykjavik on Saturday: “The Prime Minister of Iceland, Johanna Sigurdardottir, and her wife, Jonina Leosdottir, will be on an official visit to China on 15-18 April.” Ms. Sigurdardottir is the world’s first openly gay prime minister.

“And her wife… that sentence sounds really, really good,” wrote a person with the online name Little Poet_Miara on Sina Weibo, China’s biggest microblog site, one of about 125 comments posted by noon Monday. A post announcing the two-woman official state visit, had already been forwarded more than 1,000 times.

“It will get me watching the evening news, I want to see how they introduce her,” wrote Gilber1203.

“I reckon CCGV,” wrote Horn of January, meaning CCTV (the substitution was probably to avoid attracting the attention of censors, since it appears several times in comments on the thread), “will only dilute it, directly overlook her companion. People shouldn’t hold out too great hopes.”

“Gonna cause difficulties for the honor guard,” wrote a person with the name “Yuan Zhubi’s microblog,” adding a yellow face suppressing smiles.

While in China, Ms. Sigurdardottir will meet with Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Mr. Li’s predecessor, Wen Jiabao, the Icelandic prime minister’s office said. She is also due to sign a free trade agreement with China that has been six years in the making, the office said.

Another notable issue surrounding the visit: the fate of a large, proposed investment project in Iceland by a Chinese businessman, Huang Nubo. As my colleague Andrew Higgins reported, there are concerns that the tourist development in a remote corner of the country could be a front for China’s expanding strategic interests in the North Pole. Mr. Huang, a poet as well as businessman and head of the Zhongkun Group, has been pursuing the deal for about two years. Mr. Huang told the China Daily newspaper in late March: “There will very likely be a favorable turning point on the eal in April.”

“But if I get nothing clear and final from the Icelandic government by the end of May, I’ll no longer be interested in pursuing the project, and I’ll let it go,” he said.

Anticipation Over China Visit by Iceland’s Leader (and Her Wife)

BEIJING â€" Will China’s state media show Jonina Leosdottir, the wife of the prime minister of Iceland, Johanna Sigurdardottir, during an official visit to China in mid-April If so, how will she be portrayed, given China’s apparent conversion to First Ladyism in the form of the recent high profile given to the wife of President Xi Jinping, the singer Peng Liyuan

Proponents of gay marriage here plan to watch closely how the state broadcaster, CCTV, handles coverage of the Icelandic visit, since gay marriage is not legal in China but there is pressure from some parts of society to legalize it. In recent years, many gay couples have held unofficial betrothal ceremonies around the country.

The Chinese state largely tolerates â€" or ignores â€" homosexual behavior in private, and has in recent years increasingly addressed the issues facing the gay community when they relate to H.I.V. infection or AIDS. However, being openly gay is still taboo here, especially in official circles. Homosexuality was effectively decriminalized in China in 1997 and was removed from the official list of mental disorders in 2001.

Reflecting that situation, quite some interest in the question of the Icelandic leader’s visit has sprung up in Chinese social media since Sunday, as news spread that she would be accompanied by her wife of 13 years, according to an announcement by the prime minister’s office in Reykjavik on Saturday: “The Prime Minister of Iceland, Johanna Sigurdardottir, and her wife, Jonina Leosdottir, will be on an official visit to China on 15-18 April.” Ms. Sigurdardottir is the world’s first openly gay prime minister.

“And her wife… that sentence sounds really, really good,” wrote a person with the online name Little Poet_Miara on Sina Weibo, China’s biggest microblog site, one of about 125 comments posted by noon Monday. A post announcing the two-woman official state visit, had already been forwarded more than 1,000 times.

“It will get me watching the evening news, I want to see how they introduce her,” wrote Gilber1203.

“I reckon CCGV,” wrote Horn of January, meaning CCTV (the substitution was probably to avoid attracting the attention of censors, since it appears several times in comments on the thread), “will only dilute it, directly overlook her companion. People shouldn’t hold out too great hopes.”

“Gonna cause difficulties for the honor guard,” wrote a person with the name “Yuan Zhubi’s microblog,” adding a yellow face suppressing smiles.

While in China, Ms. Sigurdardottir will meet with Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Mr. Li’s predecessor, Wen Jiabao, the Icelandic prime minister’s office said. She is also due to sign a free trade agreement with China that has been six years in the making, the office said.

Another notable issue surrounding the visit: the fate of a large, proposed investment project in Iceland by a Chinese businessman, Huang Nubo. As my colleague Andrew Higgins reported, there are concerns that the tourist development in a remote corner of the country could be a front for China’s expanding strategic interests in the North Pole. Mr. Huang, a poet as well as businessman and head of the Zhongkun Group, has been pursuing the deal for about two years. Mr. Huang told the China Daily newspaper in late March: “There will very likely be a favorable turning point on the eal in April.”

“But if I get nothing clear and final from the Icelandic government by the end of May, I’ll no longer be interested in pursuing the project, and I’ll let it go,” he said.

Anticipation Over China Visit by Iceland’s Leader (and Her Wife)

BEIJING â€" Will China’s state media show Jonina Leosdottir, the wife of the prime minister of Iceland, Johanna Sigurdardottir, during an official visit to China in mid-April If so, how will she be portrayed, given China’s apparent conversion to First Ladyism in the form of the recent high profile given to the wife of President Xi Jinping, the singer Peng Liyuan

Proponents of gay marriage here plan to watch closely how the state broadcaster, CCTV, handles coverage of the Icelandic visit, since gay marriage is not legal in China but there is pressure from some parts of society to legalize it. In recent years, many gay couples have held unofficial betrothal ceremonies around the country.

The Chinese state largely tolerates â€" or ignores â€" homosexual behavior in private, and has in recent years increasingly addressed the issues facing the gay community when they relate to H.I.V. infection or AIDS. However, being openly gay is still taboo here, especially in official circles. Homosexuality was effectively decriminalized in China in 1997 and was removed from the official list of mental disorders in 2001.

Reflecting that situation, quite some interest in the question of the Icelandic leader’s visit has sprung up in Chinese social media since Sunday, as news spread that she would be accompanied by her wife of 13 years, according to an announcement by the prime minister’s office in Reykjavik on Saturday: “The Prime Minister of Iceland, Johanna Sigurdardottir, and her wife, Jonina Leosdottir, will be on an official visit to China on 15-18 April.” Ms. Sigurdardottir is the world’s first openly gay prime minister.

“And her wife… that sentence sounds really, really good,” wrote a person with the online name Little Poet_Miara on Sina Weibo, China’s biggest microblog site, one of about 125 comments posted by noon Monday. A post announcing the two-woman official state visit, had already been forwarded more than 1,000 times.

“It will get me watching the evening news, I want to see how they introduce her,” wrote Gilber1203.

“I reckon CCGV,” wrote Horn of January, meaning CCTV (the substitution was probably to avoid attracting the attention of censors, since it appears several times in comments on the thread), “will only dilute it, directly overlook her companion. People shouldn’t hold out too great hopes.”

“Gonna cause difficulties for the honor guard,” wrote a person with the name “Yuan Zhubi’s microblog,” adding a yellow face suppressing smiles.

While in China, Ms. Sigurdardottir will meet with Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Mr. Li’s predecessor, Wen Jiabao, the Icelandic prime minister’s office said. She is also due to sign a free trade agreement with China that has been six years in the making, the office said.

Another notable issue surrounding the visit: the fate of a large, proposed investment project in Iceland by a Chinese businessman, Huang Nubo. As my colleague Andrew Higgins reported, there are concerns that the tourist development in a remote corner of the country could be a front for China’s expanding strategic interests in the North Pole. Mr. Huang, a poet as well as businessman and head of the Zhongkun Group, has been pursuing the deal for about two years. Mr. Huang told the China Daily newspaper in late March: “There will very likely be a favorable turning point on the eal in April.”

“But if I get nothing clear and final from the Icelandic government by the end of May, I’ll no longer be interested in pursuing the project, and I’ll let it go,” he said.

Anticipation Over China Visit by Iceland’s Leader (and Her Wife)

BEIJING â€" Will China’s state media show Jonina Leosdottir, the wife of the prime minister of Iceland, Johanna Sigurdardottir, during an official visit to China in mid-April If so, how will she be portrayed, given China’s apparent conversion to First Ladyism in the form of the recent high profile given to the wife of President Xi Jinping, the singer Peng Liyuan

Proponents of gay marriage here plan to watch closely how the state broadcaster, CCTV, handles coverage of the Icelandic visit, since gay marriage is not legal in China but there is pressure from some parts of society to legalize it. In recent years, many gay couples have held unofficial betrothal ceremonies around the country.

The Chinese state largely tolerates â€" or ignores â€" homosexual behavior in private, and has in recent years increasingly addressed the issues facing the gay community when they relate to H.I.V. infection or AIDS. However, being openly gay is still taboo here, especially in official circles. Homosexuality was effectively decriminalized in China in 1997 and was removed from the official list of mental disorders in 2001.

Reflecting that situation, quite some interest in the question of the Icelandic leader’s visit has sprung up in Chinese social media since Sunday, as news spread that she would be accompanied by her wife of 13 years, according to an announcement by the prime minister’s office in Reykjavik on Saturday: “The Prime Minister of Iceland, Johanna Sigurdardottir, and her wife, Jonina Leosdottir, will be on an official visit to China on 15-18 April.” Ms. Sigurdardottir is the world’s first openly gay prime minister.

“And her wife… that sentence sounds really, really good,” wrote a person with the online name Little Poet_Miara on Sina Weibo, China’s biggest microblog site, one of about 125 comments posted by noon Monday. A post announcing the two-woman official state visit, had already been forwarded more than 1,000 times.

“It will get me watching the evening news, I want to see how they introduce her,” wrote Gilber1203.

“I reckon CCGV,” wrote Horn of January, meaning CCTV (the substitution was probably to avoid attracting the attention of censors, since it appears several times in comments on the thread), “will only dilute it, directly overlook her companion. People shouldn’t hold out too great hopes.”

“Gonna cause difficulties for the honor guard,” wrote a person with the name “Yuan Zhubi’s microblog,” adding a yellow face suppressing smiles.

While in China, Ms. Sigurdardottir will meet with Xi Jinping, Prime Minister Li Keqiang and Mr. Li’s predecessor, Wen Jiabao, the Icelandic prime minister’s office said. She is also due to sign a free trade agreement with China that has been six years in the making, the office said.

Another notable issue surrounding the visit: the fate of a large, proposed investment project in Iceland by a Chinese businessman, Huang Nubo. As my colleague Andrew Higgins reported, there are concerns that the tourist development in a remote corner of the country could be a front for China’s expanding strategic interests in the North Pole. Mr. Huang, a poet as well as businessman and head of the Zhongkun Group, has been pursuing the deal for about two years. Mr. Huang told the China Daily newspaper in late March: “There will very likely be a favorable turning point on the eal in April.”

“But if I get nothing clear and final from the Icelandic government by the end of May, I’ll no longer be interested in pursuing the project, and I’ll let it go,” he said.