This year's top tongzhi dream lover was Ella, a member of the popular girl band S.H.E. Following behind were Hong Kong star Karen Mok (莫文蔚) and Singaporean singer Sun Yan-zi (孫燕姿). All three are artists popular for their healthy and energetic images.
Tongzhi's favorite love song is A-mei's (張惠妹)Brave (勇敢), the refrain of which goes: "I've been brave for too long/decided to live for you alone/but I can't let you know/it tortured me so."
The lyrics were said to reflect homosexuals' efforts to remain courageous and optimistic in a hostile society. The march, however, was not a coming-out party, as Hotline had advised participants concerned at being exposed to disguise themselves with face masks. Roughly 20 percent of the participants did so.
One computer engineer covered herself in a large hooded overcoat and a gold mask. "None of my colleagues know that I'm lesbian and it would cause me trouble if they saw me here," she said.
A college sophomore, who called herself Kim, did not disguise herself but was wary of approaching media cameras. Though she said her non-lesbian classmates were supportive, Kim said she would rather her parents not find out about her orientation on TV news.
"When society is still unfriendly toward homosexuals, why should we put everything under the sun for the public to see, why should we open our hearts? If some homosexuals have to wear masks, it's not homosexuals' problem, it's society's problem," Lee said.
"People in Taiwan often pretend there's no homosexuals in this society, that's why we going on the street in our hundreds to show people that we're here. If we stop people from ignoring the existence of homosexuals, we've achieved our goal."
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