700 in Singapore hold vigil for Orlando gay club shooting victims

SINGAPORE -- Singaporeans have been brought together by the shocking mass shooting over the weekend that killed at least 50 at a gay club in Orlando, Florida.

On Tuesday evening, more than 700 people came to a candlelight vigil for the victims. They held up glow sticks because open flames are not allowed in parks here.

People gather at a park in Singapore for a vigil in remembrance of the Orlando shooting victims on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, in Singapore. A tragedy half a world away has created an unlikely opening for a repressed community in Singapore. The mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando, Florida, has galvanized LGBT people in Singapore, where a vigil was held Tuesday to express solidarity with the victims. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Credit: Wong Maye-E/ap

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SEE ALSO: World mourns after attack on Orlando LGBTQ nightclub

The organiser, GLBT Voices Singapore, said the turnout was larger than expected, given that word about the event had only been sent a little over 24 hours prior.

It held the gathering at Hong Lim Park -- the site of the annual Pink Dot pride picnic -- for which it had to get a licence from the government. Hong Lim Park is the only allocated "free speech" area in Singapore, and people who want to use it for rallies or speeches need to get it cleared by the authorities beforehand.

Credit: WONG MAYE-E/AP

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GLBT Voices noted that the speaking permit was issued promptly by the government, and that it received an outpouring of warm responses from attendees on its Facebook event page.

Singapore's LGBTQ community is fairly repressed in the conservative country.

The shooting has been rattling for the LGBTQ community in Singapore -- a fairly repressed group in the conservative country.

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Shortly after the shooting, netizens noticed a Facebook comment from a Bryan Lim made earlier this month, where he wrote on an anti-Pink Dot Facebook page that he wanted to "open fire" on "these £@€$^*s" -- taken to mean the attendees at the event.

Lim later appeared to retract what he said, saying it wasn't directed at the LGBTQ attendees at Pink Dot, but not before the police and his employer, Canon Singapore, both said they were looking into the matter.

On Tuesday evening, Singapore's Minister for Home Affairs and Law, K Shanmugam, posted on his Facebook page, where he said the government would act "decisively" to quell any threat or violence against any person or group.

He said: "The Government's duty is to protect everyone. Their race, their religion, their sexual orientation -- these are not relevant in terms of the Government’s duty to protect.

"... We, as Singaporeans, have to come together, unite together to fight this terror."

The minister made the post after attending an Iftar at a mosque here, the evening meal for Muslims during the Ramadan month where they end their daily fast at sunset. 

Also on Tuesday night, another gathering for the Orlando victims was held in Tokyo's Shinjuku district, which drew a crowd of over 130 people.

The event was held at Ni-chome in Shinjuku, where many of Tokyo's gay-friendly bars are located. During an open mic session, many of the attendees expressed their sadness and anger at the lives lost during the shooting.

A man places a flower on a rainbow flag as they gathered for a vigil in remembrance of the Orlando shooting victims on Tuesday, June 14, 2016, in Singapore. A tragedy half a world away has created an unlikely opening for a repressed community in Singapore. The mass shooting at a gay club in Orlando, Florida, has galvanized LGBT people in Singapore, where a vigil was held Tuesday to express solidarity with the victims. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E) Credit: WONG MAYE-E/AP

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