Officials from the European Economic and Trade Office are to attend the gay pride parade in Taipei today, handing out EU flags, of which the golden stars have been replaced with rainbow colors in a gesture of support to the gay community.
The sixth International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (LGBTI) Asian region conference was concluded in Taipei yesterday, which was hosted by the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association for the first time, with the EU’s support.
The conference was attended by about 300 LGBTI activists from 30 nations, the association said.
Photo: CNA
A statement by the office said that the EU feels that no matter their sexual orientation or sexual identification, people should enjoy basic human rights as proclaimed and guaranteed under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
“We hope that through multi-lateral discussions and support from the public we can further that goal,” the office said, adding that it was one of the reasons why it was supporting the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association in hosting the event.
The office said it hopes that the event would help promote the rights of LGBTI groups in Asia.
Photo: CNA
According to sources, the office offered about 40,000 euros (US$44,131), or roughly NT$1.5 million, to help the association fund the conference.
“Just like in the EU, of course more can be done in Taiwan and in the region, but we hope that Taiwan will always be the leader in this area and will lead clearly from the front in ensuring that LGBTI rights are promoted and strengthened,” said the head of the office, Madeleine Majorenko.
The office said yesterday that many of its members would be attending the parade today and would be handing out 600 EU flags with rainbow-colored stars on blue background, instead of the official gold-blue combination, to the attendees of the event to show the office’s support for the LGBTI community.
Taiwan is stepping up plans to create self-sufficient supply chains for combat drones and increase foreign orders from the US to counter China’s numerical superiority, a defense official said on Saturday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, the official said the nation’s armed forces are in agreement with US Admiral Samuel Paparo’s assessment that Taiwan’s military must be prepared to turn the nation’s waters into a “hellscape” for the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Paparo, the commander of the US Indo-Pacific Command, reiterated the concept during a Congressional hearing in Washington on Wednesday. He first coined the term in a security conference last
Prosecutors today declined to say who was questioned regarding alleged forgery on petitions to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, after Chinese-language media earlier reported that members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Youth League were brought in for questioning. The Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau confirmed that two people had been questioned, but did not disclose any further information about the ongoing investigation. KMT Youth League members Lee Hsiao-liang (李孝亮) and Liu Szu-yin (劉思吟) — who are leading the effort to recall DPP caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) and Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) — both posted on Facebook saying: “I
Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 today amid outcry over his decision to wear a Nazi armband to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case last night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and covering the book with his coat. Lee said today that this is a serious
A mountain blaze that broke out yesterday morning in Yangmingshan National Park was put out after five hours, following multi agency efforts involving dozens of fire trucks and helicopter water drops. The fire might have been sparked by an air quality sensor operated by the National Center for High-Performance Computing, one of the national-level laboratories under the National Applied Research Laboratories, Yangmingshan National Park Headquarters said. The Taipei City Fire Department said the fire, which broke out at about 11am yesterday near the mountainous Xiaoyoukeng (小油坑) Recreation Area was extinguished at 4:32pm. It had initially dispatched 72 personnel in four command vehicles, 16
RSS