The 18th annual Taiwan LGBT Pride parade took place in the streets of Taipei yesterday afternoon, showcasing the diversity of Taiwanese society and urging the public to understand, accept and respect people with different identities and sexual desires.
As the parade “reached adulthood” and turned 18 this year, the theme was “to support and help others fulfill their cherished dreams (成人之美),” a Chinese proverb which can also be understood as “adulthood beauty.”
The Taiwan Rainbow Civil Action Association, which organized the event, said it hopes that the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, queer/questioning and asexual communities would not only become more visible in society, but would be understood and respected by more people.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Before the parade officially started at Taipei City Hall Plaza at 2pm, thousands of people began flocking to the square since the morning. A Rainbow Market, consisting of almost 100 LGBT-friendly businesses and organizations that sold rainbow-themed merchandise and provided information on LGBT topics, was opened at 11:30am.
At 1pm, the square was packed with participants in a festive atmosphere, with rainbow-themed flags, banners, fans and outfits. Many participants wore masks in rainbow colors.
The organizers estimated that more than 130,000 people participated in the event.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Association chairperson Shao Li-yi (邵立宜), who is also the parade’s spokesperson, said that the theme was chosen to highlight that there are many forms of beauty and that it does not matter if a person is tall, short, overweight or slender, or has feminine or masculine personality traits, and that society should allow them to feel confident in their beauty and be respected by the society.
“The Taiwan LGBT Pride parade is not only a carnival. Although same-sex marriage was legalized in 2018, there are still many issues concerning equal rights of LGBT communities that need to be addressed,” parade convener Hsiao Ching (小鯨) said.
“If Taiwan prides itself on accepting diversity, nobody should feel sorry for being the person they are, and people should have the right to be comfortable in their own skin, no matter if they are at home or at work,” she said.
Photo: CNA
Marriage Equality Platform convener Jennifer Lu (呂欣潔) said that even after same-sex marriage was legalized, there are still many issues that need to be pushed, such as transnational same-sex marriage, as well as adoption by same-sex couples, elderly or adolescent LGBT issues.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taipei’s Pride parade might be the largest of its kind in the world this year, which is a collective achievement on the part of the public, she said, expressing hope that the parade’s message would be heard worldwide and raise global awareness about Taiwan’s achievements with regard to LGBT rights.
Members of many of the nation’s political parties attended the event, including members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League, the Democratic Progressive Party, the Taiwan Statebuilding Party, the Green Party Taiwan and the Taiwan People’s Party.
Photo: Reuters
Twenty foreign representative offices in Taiwan, including those of several EU countries, the US and Canada, sent representatives to the event, Lu said.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
Instead of threatening tariffs on Taiwan-made chips, the US should try to reinforce cooperation with Taiwan on semiconductor development to take on challenges from the People’s Republic of China (PRC), a Taiwanese think tank said. The administration of US President Donald Trump has threatened to impose across-the-board import duties of 32 percent on Taiwan-made goods and levy a separate tariff on semiconductors, which Taiwan is hoping to avoid. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society, and Emerging Technology (DSET), a National Science and Technology Council think tank, said that US efforts should focus on containing China’s semiconductor rise rather than impairing Taiwan. “Without
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
RSS