Opponents of same-sex marriage yesterday rallied tens of thousands of people along Ketagalan Boulevard, in a massive protest against proposed Civil Code amendments.
Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation, which organized the protest, said 80,000 people attended the demonstration, whose white-shirted crowd spilled out of Ketagalan Boulevard to encircle Jingfu Gate (景福門).
Organizers said that companion rallies in Taichung and Kaohsiung attracted an additional 90,000 participants.
Photo: AP
While a huge rally outside the Legislative Yuan last month was marked by Christian hymns and prayer, yesterday’s event had a more ecumenical bent, with protesters dancing to the children’s song Lovable Family.
Participants waved pieces of paper calling for a referendum on same-sex marriage and parental control over children’s education, after being forbidden from bringing their own banners by event organizers.
A skit called for what it called a pro-homosexual curriculum to be “driven out” of schools, with members of the crowd also throwing around two large black balls while calling for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) to “roll out” (滾出去) of Taiwan — a pun on the Mandarin expression for “scram.”
Photo: CNA
Yu has been one of the main sponsors of amendments to the Civil Code, which would legalize same-sex marriage, also serving as co-convener of the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee to which legislation has been referred.
Leaders from a cross-section of Buddhist, Daoist, Christian and other religious groups, which have joined the anti-gay marriage National Religious Alliance, were also featured.
“We oppose homosexual marriage being amended into the Civil Code because the family system comprised of marriage between one man and one woman is the foundation of society, and if you damage it, that will lead to marriage, family and the structure of society being completely wiped out,” alliance spokesman Chu Wu-hsien (朱武憲) said.
Photo: CNA
“Every person has a right to love, but there is also a proper order to love: We do not use the same manner to love animals as people, and love for a husband and wife is different from how you love friends,” Chinese Regional Bishops’ Conference secretary-general Otried Chan (陳科) said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) was the only national legislator who was observed taking the stage.
“My hope is that we can combine tolerance with a principled stand,” he said, adding that he was not representing the KMT caucus at the rally.
Several rows of counter-protesters rallied across a section of Zhongshan Road next to National Taiwan University Hospital with at least one banner-bearing group breaking into the main protest site, sparking a stand-off.
A small group of people late on Friday night had previously covered sidewalks and walls around Ketagalan Boulevard, the 228 Peace Memorial Park and the DPP’s headquarters with “reverse “graffiti slogans in favor of same-sex marriage.
About 10 people used a small cargo truck to haul a pressure washer around the site, spraying water at high speeds onto metal stencils to strip off grime and leave behind slogans condemning “special law” proposals and calling for “marriage equality now.”
“We are washing away grime to combat the mudslinging aimed at us,” said Liu Yu (劉宇) a gay Internet celebrity on online academic bulletin board system Professional Technology Temple (PTT), who accompanied the activists.
“Everyone has to do their part on this issue, and we hope people will recognize our efforts even though we do not have nearly as much money as the opposition,” he said, referring to numerous front-page newspaper advertisements and prime-time TV slots purchased in recent weeks by same-sex marriage opponents.
A rival protest in favor of gay marriage is scheduled for Saturday.
Additional reporting by Ye Kuan-yu
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
BIG SPENDERS: Foreign investors bought the most Taiwan equities since 2005, signaling confidence that an AI boom would continue to benefit chipmakers Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) market capitalization swelled to US$2 trillion for the first time following a 4.25 percent rally in its American depositary receipts (ADR) overnight, putting the world’s biggest contract chipmaker sixth on the list of the world’s biggest companies by market capitalization, just behind Amazon.com Inc. The site CompaniesMarketcap.com ranked TSMC ahead of Saudi Aramco and Meta Platforms Inc. The Taiwanese company’s ADRs on Tuesday surged to US$385.75 on the New York Stock Exchange, as strong demand for artificial intelligence (AI) applications led to chip supply constraints and boost revenue growth to record-breaking levels. Each TSMC ADR represents
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
RSS