The Taiwanese community in Australia is joining the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras for the first time as “Taiwan,” showcasing Taiwanese culture with custom T-shirts, banners, music and dance.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, which was started in 1978 as a protest advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, is one of the world’s most iconic pride parades, with hundreds of thousands of participants every year. This year’s parade is scheduled for March 1.
Anabelle Chen, who is originally from Taiwan and now works for the New South Wales government, came up with the idea to participate in the parade as “Taiwan.”
Photo courtesy of Anabelle Chen via CNA
When Chen’s 10-page plan was approved by the organizer, Taiwan officially became one of 200 participating groups.
Chen and her partner, Noel, cofounded Taiwan Pride Sydney to prepare for the historic event, and they steadily recruited more people with the help of friends and family.
They are using their free time to prepare promotional materials, music and choreography for the parade, and are also reaching out to Taiwanese across Australia via social media, asking for support and inviting them to participate, Chen said.
The group designed custom T-shirts, rainbow lights and other swag for parade-goers, ordered handheld rainbow lights from Taiwan and created custom Taiwanese stickers, showcasing their creativity and attention to detail.
They are preparing a banner that says “Be bold, just be — Taiwan shines free,” as well as Taiwanese, Australian and rainbow flags to fly during the parade.
The group’s participation symbolizes Taiwan and Australia’s mutual support for diversity and equality, Chen said.
This would be the first time for Taiwan to officially participate in the Sydney parade, Chen said.
“It’s my goal to have team Taiwan participate every year, even adding a float to make the team stand out more,” she said.
When the group announced their participation, Taiwanese across Australia quickly expressed support, including many who are planning to fly from Melbourne and even Western Australia to march with them in the parade, while others who are unable to attend donated to support preparations.
Indonesian and Japanese communities in Australia have participated in the parade under their countries’ name before, Chen said.
However, as the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, Taiwan’s participation bears a special significance, she said.
Joining the parade is only the beginning, she said, adding that they would continue to work to increase the visibility of queer Taiwanese living in Australia and promote more exchanges between the two nations.
Australia legalized same-sex marriage in December 2017, becoming the 26th country in the world to do so.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal