Singapore: It's In to Be Out

Homosexual activity between consenting adults is still illegal in Singapore. Colonial sodomy laws are not exactly a proud inheritance (some say they were meant to keep British troops in line), so it is odd that, amid much tradition that is proudly preserved, these antiquated laws remain on the statute books. Until recently, the government justified the criminal status of homosexual activity by citing so-called Asian values of Singaporean society. Imagine the fizz, then, in the republic's media and especially the gay community, when Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong told TIME last month that the government has been quietly tolerating gays in...