Asia Adult Expo: ‘Sex no longer a taboo’

Asia Adult Expo, held at the Venetian Convention Centre starting tomorrow, helps to ‘break the taboo’ on sex said Ng Man Lun

The third Asia Adult Expo (AAE) starts tomorrow at the Venetian Convention Centre and its “success” is further proof that “sex is no longer a taboo” among Chinese, organiser Simon Nan told Macau Daily Times (MDT). However, there will be restrictions on total and partial nudity and another member of the event’s advisory board, Ng Man Lun, admitted to MDT that “no venue accepted” the event in Hong Kong.
Local people have “surprisingly welcomed the Expo” on its first two editions, Simon Nan said. “The number of visitors has increased every year,” the adult products manufacturer stressed, and in 2009 AAE attracted around 25,000 visitors, 60 percent of which were couples. Even though the event not yet attracts people from the Mainland, some tourists took the opportunity to drop by the event last year, he said.
Most people come “maybe from curiosity,” Nan acknowledges. After all, in Macau the market is still quite limited and there are only “a few very small sex-shops,” he said. Furthermore, AAE “usually brings out new things every year,” Ng Man Lun added.
But the result has been “encouraging, both in the commercial side and in the change of mind,” Simon Nan said. Sex has “always been a taboo in Asian countries” but it’s been changing a lot lately, he assured. Even the “routine” information sex education given out at the Expo helps to break the taboo said Ng Man Lun.

‘More open than Europeans’

Both organisers are confident that sexuality is becoming more open in mainland China. “Business is gradually growing in China,” Simon Nan said, pointing out the “huge popularity” of Japanese adult movies.
This year the three-day Expo will have many Japanese adult stars, including actresses Kayama Mika, considered a pioneer for her work shooting in 3D, and Mihiro, who is now performing in mainstream TV shows and movies. “Japanese companies in the industry are facing keen competition within the country. They would like to find new markets,” chief executive of AAE organiser Vertical Expo Services Kenny Lo said.
Aside from being the world’s biggest producer of sex toys, Ng Man Lun stressed, China already accounts for “half of the worldwide market” for these products. Meanwhile, “sex shops are opening in the bigger cities” and adult exhibitions are also taking place, including in nearby Guangzhou, he said.
For the associate director of Hong Kong University’s Family Institute, there is “no doubt about it”: “Chinese are more open about sex, even more than North-Americans or Europeans.” An opinion confirmed by Simon Nan: “Sex is more open in China because there is no religion.”
However, the Namna Manufacturing managing director admitted, “publicly it’s still an embarrassment to talk about that [sex]”, adding that even the adult exhibitions in mainland China are held in smaller venues and that “visitors are less enthusiastic”.

‘Locked out’ of HK

Macau is “the perfect place” to host AAE, the Hong Kong businessmen assured, because of its “entertainment environment”. Nonetheless, Nan admits that “for years” the organisers have been looking for a venue in Hong Kong. “It’s difficult in Hong Kong. There is a lack of facilities and of support from the authorities,” quite on the contrary to Macau, he said.
Ng Man Lun goes even further in revealing that “no venue accepted” AAE in the neighbouring SAR. “In Hong Kong, it’s not so simple as in here. It’s very small and conservative,” he explained. The Hong Kong Sex Education Association vice-president recalled his attempts to organize a “Sex Cultural Festival,” aiming at promotion sex education. “It’s been heavily criticised,” he bemoaned.
To organise an adult exhibition “is easier in Macau,” the World Association of Chinese Sexologists president concluded. The local Government is “maybe a little more open-minded,” he added, with a laugh. Still, Simon Nan admitted, “there will be some constraints on total and partial nudity”.
Vertical Expo Services expects a new record high attendance around 30,000 visitors from 30 different countries and territories. The pre-registered trade buyers come from neighbouring countries such as Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, but also from Europe and North America.