More than 100 white-shirted protesters held a rally against same-sex marriage outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday.
Calling themselves the Baby’s Breath Layman Alliance, protesters in surgical masks waved bouquets of white flowers while shouting their rejection of “rainbow terror,” homosexual marriage, homosexual education and giving National Health Insurance coverage to foreigners with HIV/AIDS.
While protesters called themselves “a million old geezers” in support of anti-same sex marriage columnist Tseng Yu-wen (曾有文), most were parents accompanied by their children, many of whom had their pictures taken with the several protesters in inflatable dinosaur costumes who wandered around the site.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
After shouting slogans, protesters settled down to consume free packages of instant noodles provided by event organizers while watching a series of protest skits and speeches throughout the afternoon.
“We are here because the Council of Grand Justices is set to begin hearings on the constitutionality of homosexual marriage later this month,” said a man surnamed Tsou (鄒), who said he was a core alliance official.
Many participants in the event requested anonymity and it lacked a clear official spokesman.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Tsou denied any connection with the Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation and Alliance of Taiwan Religious Groups for the Protection of the Family, which in the past have organized several major demonstrations against homosexual marriage, instead saying that the Baby’s Breath Layman Alliance was organized online by like-minded parents.
The rally fell far short of the numbers achieved at earlier demonstrations, which attracted thousands of participants.
While many opponents of homosexual marriage have advocated the passage of a special law granting marriage-like rights, yesterday’s protesters were opposed to such a measure.
“As soon as you open that door, there will just be demands for more and the passage of formal same-sex marriage legislation will just be a matter of time,” Tsou said.
“There needs to be more recognition of the importance of healthy families,” a woman surnamed Lin (林) said, adding that she has participated in Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation rallies.
“I am not a religious believer, much less a Christian, but it is important to stand up for Taiwan, the next generation and family values,” said a man surnamed Lin (林), who said he had also participated in earlier rallies.
“Other than the emphasis on AIDS, many of the demands are basically the same [as previous protests against same-sex marriage],” said Lee Ching-ya (李靜亞), a protester previously observed speaking at Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation rallies who said he was an alliance volunteer.
He directed yesterday’s slogan shouting.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai