The Taiwanese community in Australia is joining the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras for the first time as “Taiwan,” showcasing Taiwanese culture with custom T-shirts, banners, music and dance.
The Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras, which was started in 1978 as a protest advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, is one of the world’s most iconic pride parades, with hundreds of thousands of participants every year. This year’s parade is scheduled for March 1.
Anabelle Chen, who is originally from Taiwan and now works for the New South Wales government, came up with the idea to participate in the parade as “Taiwan.”
Photo courtesy of Anabelle Chen via CNA
When Chen’s 10-page plan was approved by the organizer, Taiwan officially became one of 200 participating groups.
Chen and her partner, Noel, cofounded Taiwan Pride Sydney to prepare for the historic event, and they steadily recruited more people with the help of friends and family.
They are using their free time to prepare promotional materials, music and choreography for the parade, and are also reaching out to Taiwanese across Australia via social media, asking for support and inviting them to participate, Chen said.
The group designed custom T-shirts, rainbow lights and other swag for parade-goers, ordered handheld rainbow lights from Taiwan and created custom Taiwanese stickers, showcasing their creativity and attention to detail.
They are preparing a banner that says “Be bold, just be — Taiwan shines free,” as well as Taiwanese, Australian and rainbow flags to fly during the parade.
The group’s participation symbolizes Taiwan and Australia’s mutual support for diversity and equality, Chen said.
This would be the first time for Taiwan to officially participate in the Sydney parade, Chen said.
“It’s my goal to have team Taiwan participate every year, even adding a float to make the team stand out more,” she said.
When the group announced their participation, Taiwanese across Australia quickly expressed support, including many who are planning to fly from Melbourne and even Western Australia to march with them in the parade, while others who are unable to attend donated to support preparations.
Indonesian and Japanese communities in Australia have participated in the parade under their countries’ name before, Chen said.
However, as the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, Taiwan’s participation bears a special significance, she said.
Joining the parade is only the beginning, she said, adding that they would continue to work to increase the visibility of queer Taiwanese living in Australia and promote more exchanges between the two nations.
Australia legalized same-sex marriage in December 2017, becoming the 26th country in the world to do so.
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