More than 100,000 people, including musicians, filmmakers and politicians, yesterday rallied on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei to show support for same-sex marriage ahead of Saturday’s referendums on the issue.
“In this last week leading up to the referendums, we hope to encourage more people to vote yes on referendums No. 14 and 15, and to vote no in Nos. 10, 11 and 12,” the Gender Equality Education Coalition, which organized the event, said in a statement, referring to five referendums related to LGBT rights that are to be held alongside the nine-in-one elections on Saturday.
Referendum No. 14 aims to legalize same-sex marriage by amending the Civil Code and No. 15 requires that classes on homosexuality be included in compulsory education, while the other three advocate opposing stances.
Photo: Sung Chih-hsiung, Taipei Times
“We hope to protect every family and ensure they are respected equally,” the coalition said, adding that the rally was planned with the goals of promoting LGBT rights and “using music to help heal all the pain caused by the increased political polarization and misinformation spread by conservative groups.”
The rally featured performances by a dozen musicians from Taiwan and abroad, including Amber An (安心亞), Tai Ai-ling (戴愛玲), Lotus Wang (王彩樺), death metal band Chthonic and Hong Kong singer Takki Wong (王若琪).
Politicians and filmmakers also addressed the rally to express their support. Among them were film director Zero Chou (周美玲), Pegatron Corp chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), New Power Party Legislator Freddy Lim (林昶佐), and Democratic Progressive Party legislators Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) and Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康).
Photo: Tyrone Siu, Reuters
The coalition estimated there were about 30,000 participants when the rally began at 1pm and said the number rose to more than 100,000 by 4pm.
The Council of Grand Justices on May 24 last year ruled that a provision in the Civil Code that defines marriage as between a man and a woman was unconstitutional.
It asked the legislature to legalize same-sex marriage within two years, but did not specify which law should be amended.
Conservative groups proposed a referendum to keep the current definition of marriage in the Civil Code and another referendum to require that the rights of same-sex couples living together be protected by laws other than the Civil Code, citing the need to protect traditional family values.
They also proposed a referendum to ban homosexuality education at elementary and junior-high schools, saying it would protect children from being exposed to information inappropriate for their age. To counter them, pro-LGBT groups launched referendums Nos. 14 and 15.
The Happiness of the Next Generation Alliance and other conservative groups, whose advertisements have been seen on buses and on front pages of major newspapers, reportedly have an advertising budget of more than NT$100 million (US$3.24 million), while the coalition has so far raised just over NT$8 million.
The three referendums proposed by conservatives groups claim to be advocating “love for families,” but really promote “discrimination against homosexuality,” Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association president Hsu Chih-yun (徐志雲) said.
“They have been spreading lies that attack homosexuality and distort gender equality education everywhere. They just want homosexual people to disappear and so many have been hurt in this process,” Hsu said.
Legalizing same-sex marriage by amending the Civil Code would ensure same-sex couples enjoy the exact same marriage rights as heterosexual couples, Yu said, adding that requiring education about homosexuality would better protect children from bullying.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by