HONG KONG - Androgynous Cantopop singer Denise Ho has come out of the closet at a gay pride parade in Hong Kong.

Facing a crowd of about 4,000 at the end of the parade and concert last Saturday, the 35-year-old was in tears as she declared, using a common Chinese reference to homosexuality: "I'm a comrade."

Her parents were in the audience, and so were friends such as lyricist Wyman Wong and fashionista Hilary Tsui, the wife of singer Eason Chan, said Ming Pao Daily News.

A protege of the late pop superstar Anita Mui, Ho is the latest Hong Kong celebrity to be openly homosexual, after singer Anthony Wong Yiu Ming and television chef So Sze Wong, said the report.

For years, Ho had been coy about her sexual orientation, despite being linked to female stars including, most famously, singer Joey Yung. Their rumoured romance was said to have ended, as Yung struck up a new relationship with singer Wilfred Lau this year.

Ho said last Saturday: "I believe that your sexual orientation is just a small part of you. Before you decide to like the same sex or the opposite sex, you can be a good friend, employee, son or daughter."

For years, she felt it was a personal mattter and she did not want to put a label on it when reporters asked prying questions, she added.

But coming to this year and finding that social prejudice still exists against homosexuals, "I feel that silence is no longer an option," she said.

She later admitted that her decision had been influenced by Wong, who outed himself at a concert in April. He performed with her right before her declaration last Saturday.

She said she had spoken to her parents and her management before deciding to come out.

"My boss hopes I'm not being impulsive, but absolutely supports my decision. In the past few days, I called good friends and got a lot of support. I even notified Joey. She said I should do what I think is right."