A Taipei City Government official yesterday said that Taiwan's only gay and lesbian event to receive government funding will serve as a barometer of society's acceptance of homosexuality.
"The festival should serve as an index of mainstream society's tolerance," said Lin Cheng-hsiu (林正修), director of Taipei's Bureau of Civil Affairs, at a press conference yesterday.
Lin encouraged the public to participate in the festival's events, adding that gays and lesbians should be appreciated as they contribute to Taipei's cultural diversity.
The Second Taipei City Gay and Lesbian Festival, whose main events are scheduled for this Friday and Saturday, aims to highlight the vitality and brightness that homosexuals share with heterosexuals.
"We want to dismiss the stereotype that gays and lesbians can only hide in a dark corner," said Lai Yu-lin (
"The festival provides a channel for communication between homosexuals and heterosexuals," Lai added.
"The city government's involvement in the movement justifies the fight for homosexual civil rights and can influence people's perception of homosexuality," Lai said.
The civil affairs bureau director, however, admitted that the city government had failed to increase funding from the amount provided for the festival last year.
"The government is short of funds so we can only afford about NT$1 million for the festival.
"Homosexuals are also taxpayers. It is somewhat pitiful that we cannot enjoy more funds for activities promoting our civil rights," Lai said.
He added that gay and lesbian activists hope that the central government might also sponsor similar events in the future.
The festival's main events are scheduled to begin on Friday -- the day before Chinese Valentine's Day.
Lai said that the events are scheduled for that time to remind the public of the love and affection which gays and lesbians share, because "stereotypes always associate homosexuality only with sex [not love]."
Corner's, a film about homosexual love which contains some explicit scenes, will be screened -- uncensored -- outdoors at 7pm on Friday at Taipei's 228 Memorial Museum park.
Corner's is the name of a gay bar which used to be a popular meeting place for Taipei's homosexuals.
It was closed early this year after its business declined by 70 percent in the wake of intensive police spot checks in late 1999.
"Through the event, we hope to introduce to the public a full picture of gays' and lesbians' world of love," said Wang Ping (王蘋), secretary-general of the Gender Sexuality Rights Association (性別人權協會).
In addition to a fair, the festival's events on Saturday will include a sports tournament and games.
"Gays and lesbians should have the space to exercise and have fun rather than hide in the corner," said a spokesperson for Lala Info (
This year's festival also includes community lectures that began two weeks ago and will continue until Sept. 10. Some sessions are open to public.
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