Some gay rights campaigners are up in arms. Unsurprisingly, this has caused something of a furore among gay rights activists. While the new version of the dictionary includes many new terms introduced into the language in recent times – slang included – the definition for 同志 is notably lacking its very common secondary usage. However, just as ‘gay’ means ‘happy’ in English (yet the word has been re-appropriated for describing homosexuals), 同志 is used as a colloquial term for a gay friend or lover. On the surface, it means “comrade”, and has been used for years as a familiar form of address between Chinese people – particularly between fellow members of the Communist party. While human rights are not widely acclaimed as one of the focal points of China’s government, recently there has been something of an uproar about the latest version of one of China’s most prominent dictionaries: a glaring omission that tacitly denounces homosexuality.
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