Tomorrow, about 70,000 people from all over Taiwan and around the Asia-Pacific region are set to attend the 13th Taiwan LGBTI Pride march. It is the largest Pride march in the region, and it is a march to be proud of as we celebrate inclusiveness, diversity and human rights.
The EU stands together with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people in the struggle to end discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation and gender identity. We believe that all human beings are equal in dignity and all are entitled to enjoy their rights as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Over recent years and in some parts of the world, LGBTI people have made substantial progress toward obtaining equal rights. Yet in many places, including in the Asia-Pacific region, they continue to suffer discrimination and violence. It is especially alarming that in some nations same-sex sexual relations between consenting adults are criminalized and carry sentences of imprisonment, corporal punishment — or even the death penalty.
Taiwan, on the other hand, has one of the friendliest environments toward LGBTI people and has a lot to offer in terms of experience and best practices to others in the region. So the EU is proud to support Taiwan’s Tongzhi Hotline Association as they host this year’s annual conference of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) Asia Network.
We hope that through this conference, Taiwan’s civil society can be seen as one of the leading actors in promoting LGBTI rights and that valuable knowledge can be shared with all the key activists and non-governmental organizations from around the region. By doing this, we hope that the fight for equal rights for the LGBTI people can be strengthened throughout the region.
We are also pleased to see that the 2nd Taiwan International Queer Film Festival is currently under way, with screenings in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Taichung; and that “Hand-in-Hand — Proud Voices,” the first LGBTI Choir Festival to be held in Taiwan, is also taking place this weekend in Taipei. These events demonstrate the vibrancy of the LGBTI community in Taiwan.
Of course, both the EU and Taiwan are still not ideal in terms of complete equal rights for the LGBTI people. We must continue to push and further the effort for complete LGBTI equal rights in both the EU and Taiwan by encouraging and working together in a spirit of mutual cooperation. This can be done and would be done as people’s attitudes can change and societies can progress if we work together.
Members of the EU and some EU member states’ offices are to participate in this year’s Taipei Pride March.
Let us march together for a better environment where all people can enjoy their human rights regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, skin color, etc. Let us be proud of who we are as individuals, proud of our diversity, proud of our inclusiveness, proud of Taiwan and most of all, let us be proud of love.
Albin Mauritz, director of the Austrian Office Taipei; Rik Van Droogenbroeck, director of the Belgian Office Taipei; Chris Wood, representative, British Office Taipei; Nicholas Enersen, director of the Trade Council of Denmark Taipei; Teppo Turkki, representative, Finland Trade and Innovation Office; Benoit Guidee, director of the French Office in Taipei; Hugues Mignot, director of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office; Guy Wittich, representative, Netherlands Trade and Investment Office; Henrik Persson, representative, Swedish Trade and Investment Council; Madeleine Majorenko, head of the European Economic and Trade Office
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of
RSS