Rainbow flags, drag queens and revelers in flamboyant costumes will once again take over downtown Taipei tomorrow as the nation’s lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgenders, intersex people (LGBTI) and their supporters march side by side tomorrow in the 13th annual Taiwan LGBT Pride Parade (台灣同志遊行), one of the largest in Asia.
The parade, however, is far from the only event this month that celebrates people with different sexual orientations and gender identities. Members from the LGBTI communities in Taiwan have made separate efforts to put together a variety of activities, making October proud, loud and very gay.
While the Taiwan international Queer Film Festival (台灣國際酷兒影展), which started last Friday, is ongoing, the launch of the Asian LGBT Choral Festival will see more than 150 vocalists from Asia, Europe and the US show off their singing prowess this weekend. In the meantime, over 300 activists from all over the globe have assembled in Taipei to attend the ILGA’s (International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association) Asia Conference, the largest conference of its type in the region.
Photo: Chen Chih-chu, Taipei Times
“We are expecting more than 5,000 foreign participants this year as there are lots of international events taking place right now,” says Tai Yu-hsun (戴佑勳), convener-in-chief of this year’s parade.
DEFYING NORMS
With this year’s theme, No Age Limit (年齡設限－解放暗櫃‧青春自主), parade organizers aim to draw attention to how mainstream society imposes gender and sexual norms on people of all ages.
“When we are teens, we are told that we are too young to know anything about sex and sexuality. When we hit the age of 18, we are suddenly expected to know everything and have to have families and produce babies. When we reach old age, we are supposed to become happily asexual, devoid of sexual needs and longing for intimacy,” Tai says.
All people, sexual or asexual, are welcome to join the parade, of course. It will again consist of two colorful processions, which are slated to set off from Jingfumen (景福門) on Ketagalan Boulevard (凱達格蘭大道) at 2pm and return to the boulevard at around 4:30pm. Speeches and performances will then be given by activists and representatives from various organizations, including the owner of the legendary Hanshih Sauna (漢士三溫暖), one of the very few hangouts for middle-aged and elderly gay men in Taipei.
CONNECTING WITH THE WORLD
Across town, hundreds of participants, mostly front line activists from over 30 countries, join forces at the ILGA-Asia Conference. ILGA has become the largest global network of LGBTI activists with over 1,000 affiliated organizations in 119 countries on every continent since its inception in 1978.
Now in its sixth edition, the biennial conference is hosted by Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association (台灣同志諮詢熱線), an ILGA-Asia member since 2008, and features forums, plenary and concurrent sessions and workshops addressing a myriad of issues and challenges. Open to the public, the three-day event takes place at Chientan Youth Activity Center (劍潭青年活動中心) and ends today.
Local organizers see the conference as a rare opportunity for Taiwanese activists to share experiences and projects with the rest of the world, while learning about what their international colleagues are up to. This exchange is of great importance, considering the fact that local activists rarely take part in global affairs partly due to Taiwan’s diplomatic isolation.
“We need to understand that we are not alone in the movement. There are many friends out there that we can work together and fight the fight with,” says Ashley Wu (巫緒樑), co-chair of the conference.
Co-secretary of ILGA Ruth Baldacchino shares Wu’s sentiment, emphasizing that the importance of the association is to break isolation and create a network of support. When asked about the debate on marriage equality In Taiwan, the veteran activist says that while every country is different, the value of human rights is universal.
“Any government who recognizes people’s human rights should draw a line between public opinion and equal treatment of all people — otherwise it will continue to reinforce inequality,” Baldacchino adds.
SINGING WITH PRIDE
On a much merrier note, Hand in Hand Asian LGBT Choral Festival makes its debut in Taipei today with participation of eight choirs from several Asian and European countries as well as the US. The quadrennial event is organized by Proud Voices Asia, a regional branch of Proud Voices, a network of LGBT choirs initiated in the UK and Ireland in 2011.
Taiwan’s G Major Chorus (G大調男聲合唱團), a Taipei-based gay choir established in 2001, is taking the lead, putting together a series of concerts on Sunday at Taipei National University of the Arts.
Festival director Gary Hsu (許志剛) says that while such choruses have thrived in Europe and North America for years, their Asian counterparts only began to emerge and develop in the 2000s, and Proud Voices Asia is the first attempt to connect the talented singers in the region.
A support network is particularly important since not every choir can sing out loud. In China, for example, performances are sometimes interruped and cancelled by authorities. A gay chorus from Singapore, where male homosexual acts are still illegal, entered the festival under a different name in order to keep a low profile, Hsu says.
Other participating groups include GAPA Men’s Chorus, formed by gay and bisexual Asian and Pacific Islander men in San Francisco. Unnie Choir from South Korea is the only lesbian choir that takes part in this year’s festival, while Proud Voices is a joint chorus made up of members from Pink Singers from London and Gloria of Dublin as well as groups from France and Germany.
Festival-goers should expect no black suits and dresses, but cowboy outfits and possibly some flamboyant dance moves, Hsu says.
All chorus members plan to participate in the parade, singing and dancing along the way, Hsu says.
Parade participants can obtain more details and the route map at twpride.org. Those interested in the ILGA-Asia Conference can visit the event’s Web site at ilgaasiatw2015.com. Information regarding the choir festival is available at asia.
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