The 17th Taiwan LGBT Pride parade is to take place in Taipei today, the first after the nation legalized same-sex marriage earlier this year.
Taiwan on May 17 became the first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage after lawmakers passed the Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 (司法院釋字第748號解釋施行法).
The event’s organizers said that the theme for this year’s parade is “Together, Make Taiwan Better,” as it advocates creating a friendly environment for all. They added that they hope to attract more than 200,000 participants from around the world.
Photo: CNA
Representatives from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the European Economic and Trade Office (EETO) and 14 other economic and trade offices yesterday said that they would participate in the event to support LGBTQ rights.
The AIT said that it would team up with Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies — an officially recognized US organization representing the LGBTQ community — to march in this year’s parade.
The EETO said on Facebook that it would jointly participate with the economic and trade offices of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK.
To mark the 20th anniversary of the gay rights movement in Taiwan, several LGBT groups have collaborated with the Taipei City Government to organize an exhibition called “Future is Now” at Vieshow Cinema Square in the city’s Xinyi District (信義) that highlights efforts by gay rights advocates over the years.
The exhibition, which runs until Nov. 13, is to feature six large installations spelling “Taipei,” each with a unique design, including a table tennis table, a bench, a bookshelf, a rock-climbing wall and a photo background, organizers said.
Additional reporting by Yang Mien-chieh
TENSIONS: The Chinese aircraft and vessels were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a joint air and sea military exercise, the Ministry of National Defense said A relatively large number of Chinese military aircraft and vessels were detected in Taiwan’s vicinity yesterday morning, apparently en route to a Chinese military exercise in the western Pacific, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. In a statement, the ministry said 36 Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) aircraft, including J-16 fighters and nuclear-capable H-6 bombers, crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait or an extension of it, and were detected in the southern and southeastern parts of Taiwan’s air defense identification zone (ADIZ) from 5:20am to 9:30am yesterday. They were headed toward the western Pacific to take part in a
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the