Friday last week was a momentous day for Taiwanese and a significant step forward for Asia, as Taiwan became the first nation in the region to realize marriage equality.
However, from looking at international news reports on the issue, it was not entirely clear what sort of place Taiwan is. Writers at the Washington Post, Reuters, Forbes and others carefully sidestepped the issue by saying “first in Asia,” leaving readers to fill in the blank.
Most people around the world are not aware of the exact nature of Taiwan’s status and its relations with its cross-strait neighbor, a fact on which China is keen to capitalize. As many politicians and propagandists are well aware, people more readily believe the dominant narrative than marginal ones, no matter which is true.
Recognizing the significance of Taiwan’s achievement and wishing to avoid the bad public relations associated with its usual tactic of demanding “corrections,” Beijing tried to spin global perception in its favor and indirectly take credit for the move.
Shortly after the gavel fell in the Legislative Yuan, the People’s Daily shared a rainbow GIF reading “Love is Love” on Twitter, accompanied by a post reading: “Local lawmakers in #Taiwan, China, have legalized same-sex marriage in a first for Asia, according to local media reports.”
The following day, the Global Times tweeted a video highlighting gay life in Beijing, services for transgender people and even foreign visitors praising the city for “openly celebrating” the LGBT community that ironically ends with the message: “Justice and protection for all.” However, the accompanying tweet exhibited ignorance of the community it purported to celebrate, as it used the term “queers,” which has a history of discriminatory use.
Within its borders, Beijing eased its crackdown on LGBT-related content online to allow praise of Taiwan, with the topic trending on Sino Weibo and garnering largely positive responses. The move ensured that the international community could not criticize it for repressing the news and made it appear as though the country were celebrating a domestic achievement.
However, China cannot hide its paltry record on LGBT rights. The South China Morning Post on Monday reported that a Cathay Pacific Airways advertisement featuring two men holding hands while walking along a beach was rejected by Hong Kong’s Airport Authority and MTR Corp. Even in a place that is meant to be semi-autonomous, the hand of censorship can be felt on something as benign as an image of a gay couple.
While Taiwan’s international image has gained a significant boost from the passage of marriage equality, it cannot sit back and allow Beijing to hijack credit — it must also control the narrative.
This was done brilliantly on Sunday by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), who fired back at the People’s Daily in a strongly worded tweet.
“WRONG! The bill was passed by our national parliament & will be signed by the president soon. Democratic #Taiwan is a country in itself & has nothing to do with authoritarian #China,” Wu wrote. “[The People’s Daily] is a commie brainwasher & it sucks. JW.”
Wu’s tweet received far greater attention than the newspaper’s post did, with CNN and the Japan Times reporting on it and 4,807 Twitter users retweeting the message, compared with only 276 for the People’s Daily’s post.
By using the shockingly direct and humorous tone of English-language meme culture, Wu and his team harnessed the power of social media to supercede China’s message and expose its hypocrisy without relying on a news media that is reluctant to say anything other than “first in Asia.”
As eyes around the world are on Taiwan, the nation should not let such an opportunity slip. This achievement was borne of Taiwan’s progressive society, which is clearly distinct from China — now it must be ensured that this message is delivered.
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