The largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) conference in Asia opened yesterday in Taipei, with local activists eager to learn from the experiences of other participants about combating discrimination and pursuing equal rights.
The sixth ILGA-Asia Regional Conference has drawn 300 activists from more than 30 countries, and Wayne Lin, chairperson of the event’s organizer, the Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBT) Hotline Association, sees it as a chance for Taiwan to share its experiences with the world and learn how LGBT issues are dealt with in other countries.
“By learning from each other, we hope to bring our cooperation one step further and strengthen Taiwan’s LGBT activism,” Lin said at the opening of the three-day conference — being held in Taiwan for the first time — at the Chientan Overseas Youth Activity Center.
Madeleine Majorenko, head of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan, said the EU sees Taiwan as a front-runner in the fight for LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and intersex) rights and was proud to support the conference.
“Through the sharing of experience and best practices, and the discussions on subjects of profound impact, together I think we will be able to strengthen the fight against LGBTI discrimination in Asia,” Majorenko said.
The EU provided 40,000 euros (US$44,131) in funding for the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association-Asia’s regional conference.
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
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 8:31am today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was located in Hualien County, about 70.3 kilometers south southwest of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 23.2km, according to the administration. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County, where it measured 3 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 2 in Hualien and Nantou counties, the CWA said.
The Overseas Community Affairs Council (OCAC) yesterday announced a fundraising campaign to support survivors of the magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28, with two prayer events scheduled in Taipei and Taichung later this week. “While initial rescue operations have concluded [in Myanmar], many survivors are now facing increasingly difficult living conditions,” OCAC Minister Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青) told a news conference in Taipei. The fundraising campaign, which runs through May 31, is focused on supporting the reconstruction of damaged overseas compatriot schools, assisting students from Myanmar in Taiwan, and providing essential items, such as drinking water, food and medical supplies,
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