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1 Nov 2009

Taiwan pride parade sets new Asian record

A record 25,000 participants turned out for the 7th Taiwan Pride Parade which concluded at gates of the Presidential Office Building on Ketagalan Boulevard for the first time to protest at the government’s meagre progress made in gay rights promised to the community during past elections.

On Saturday, October 31, 2009, over a hundred contingents led by six vans set in rainbow colours trod down the streets of the historic western quarters of Taipei city in a dynamic expression of diversity in lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) cultures. The turnout of 25,000 broke the record of being the largest gay pride parade in Asia set by the Taiwan Pride Parade the year before.

 

It is unclear if Taiwan’s President Ma Ying-jeou was in his office on that Saturday afternoon to witness the event and hear the call for a non-discriminatory society, but the gay community had certainly made its presence felt across the island as the parade was broadly reported by major mainstream media outlets. Taipei has been noted by various international media as one of Asia’s most gay-friendly cities.

Contigents of marchers were organised around more than a hundred local NGOs and civil society groups from within and outside of the LGBT community, with a strong presence from student bodies (representing both gay and straight students) from numerous universities and institutions. A handful of high school students in school uniforms were also among the marchers.

Green Party Taiwan, whose political concerns centre around marginalised communities, continues to support the gay cause by sending a contingent. Also spotted among the marchers were participants arriving from the US, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, mainland China, Japan, Singapore, Korea and other parts of the world.

This year’s parade also included disabled participants who completed the course on wheels, while wheelchair-bound LGBT activist Vincent addressed the crowd at the end point. Lesbian mothers with their children and prams in tow made their calls for legal provisions to have babies within a same-sex partnership, while heterosexual supporters and family members brought along their children to heed the call in this year’s parade theme - “Love Out Loud”.

In a show of solidarity and discontent with the government dragging its feet over delivering gay-affirmative policies promised to the community during previous election campaigns, participants in the parade gathered on the grounds of Ketagalan Boulevard which runs before the Presidential Office Building to form a huge black cross (X) using printed sheets of “black hearts” handed out by volunteers.

In a series of rousing speeches made by representatives of various civil activist groups including the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association, the Gender and Sexuality Rights Association of Taiwan and activist Josephine Ho, the community voiced its displeasure at the failure of lawmakers and political office holders from both the ruling Kuomingtang (KMT) party and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to make substantive progress in gay rights and to bring justice to human rights abuses suffered by LGBT citizens.

 

Along this year’s route were numerous landmarks of significance to the gay history of Taiwan. On Changde Street and along the garden walls of the 228 Memorial Park banners were hung to mark events of historic significance which occurred at these venues, including the controversial abuse of civil rights by the police during armed arrests of gay cruisers in that area in 1997.

The 228 Park, formerly known as the New Park, has been a gay cruising ground for over half a century and whose role as the centre of Taipei’s gay scene has been cast in the novel Crystal Boys poignantly written by famed gay novelist Kenneth Pai Hsien-yung.

Also along the route is the Ximending shopping precinct, home to some of the Taipei’s oldest gay saunas, and the Red Mansion conservation building which used to house a cinema popular with gay men as a meeting place for socialising since the 1950s. Today, the plaza adjacent to the restored building has become a gathering space for the gay community with a host of cafes, pubs, retailers, hair salons, and other gay-friendly businesses springing up over the past few years to form Taipei’s unique gay street.

 

In the outdoor concert which followed the parade, Malaysia-born pop artiste Fish Leong (梁静茹) took the stage as the Rainbow Ambassador. Leong’s popular hit “Courage” (勇氣), released a decade ago, has remained the de facto “anthem” for same-sex love in the Mandarin pop music scene. A young parade volunteer went on stage to describe how Leong’s iconic song struck her heart and fed her soul during her growing up years as she was coming to terms with being a lesbian teenager. Leong, who is said to be preparing for her wedding currently, affirmed her support for the LGBT community, treating all to three of her love songs favoured by gay listeners. She also donated a pair of sunglasses for auction to raise funds for future pride parades. Also appearing in the concert were gay-friendly artistes Da Bing and Ding Dang from mainland China.

 

Coming soon: Pictures and videos of the Taiwan Pride Parade 2009 on fotos@fridae.

讀者回應

1. 2009-11-03 13:27  
I've always loved this beautiful island.
And their beautiful women!!!! ;-)
2. 2009-11-03 14:15  
A hearty congratulations to the LGBT community and its supporters in Taiwan (and of course, those who flew in from elsewhere) for their success in hosting and supporting the Pride March and all activities related to it.

Hopefully Fish Leong didn't pull a Lady Gaga and yelled asking President Ma if he was listening.
3. 2009-11-03 17:01  
Thanks for a great article.
It's fantastic to hear of such a successful parade.
4. 2009-11-03 17:24  
Everybody's equal under the sun. My strong support to the LGBT community of TaiPei.
5. 2009-11-03 17:52  
Unbelievable! Just when I thought a gay-friendly Asian country never existed. O HAI THERE SINGAPORE! =)
6. 2009-11-03 17:52  
I am happy to read this news.
As a guy who comes a lot to TW it's great to know that the gays are more open and have more of visibility.
In Israel we have all legal rights for gays and I hope that soon TW will have the same.
All the best to my TW LGBT members.
I wish my friends in Singapore will enjoy those rights in the near future.
修改於2009-11-05 04:24:39
7. 2009-11-03 18:02  
Well done, everyone! I wish I could have been there.

But the news made me proud to be "half-Taiwanese"! ;-)
8. 2009-11-03 18:03  
1000000 cheers to Taiwan!!!!!
9. 2009-11-03 18:33  
Where was my Taipei's Love?? :)) He told me he was too shy to go Pride ehehe. A big bacio (kiss) to all Taiwanese guys and girls from Italy! Roberto.
10. 2009-11-03 18:52  
Congrats, hugs and kisses to all the gay boys and girls on Taiwan. I'm so proud of them and so happy to call Taipei my "home town". In my heart, forever, is a special place for Taiwan. I lived and worked there for over 15 years, when being gay wasn't so "out" as it is now, but even back then, it WAS always fun!!! And, to everyone at "Hong Lo" in XiMunDing (my favorite place to just hang-out)....I love and miss you guys.
11. 2009-11-03 19:10  
yea would be nice on it wish was there in lgbt parade. hopefully one day in philippines too. congrats to everyone...........
12. 2009-11-03 19:31  
I'm so happy to see more and more involvement all across Asia and the world. Here in the US we have seen the REAL benefits and power associated with more individuals coming out to family and the world. It is SO much more difficult to oppose gay rights when you know someone personally who is a family member, friend, coworker, etc. It is an incremental fight we take step by step.
13. 2009-11-03 20:31  
Well, the Pink Dot event in Singapore is a good start. Hopefully it will lead up to something like this one day. :)
14. 2009-11-03 21:46  
so glad to see this news...
there is still long way to go for LGBT's equal rights in chinese community.
i think TW does a good example!
回應#15於於2009-11-03 22:18被作者刪除。
16. 2009-11-03 22:29  
Congratulation Taiwan, you are Asia no.1
i am so happy and pround for you.
next year sure will join you, so count on me
17. 2009-11-03 22:30  
台湾社会及官方给予同志群体的包容度会间接影响亚洲乃至全球对于该群体的包容度.外界在评估中国的人权发展时难免以台湾来作为对比.因此,台北给予的包容程度会直接影响中共的同志权益政策方向.中国作为亚洲的大哥,其导向亦将影响全亚洲.若台北能持续其维护同志群体权益的进程,其他华人为主的亚洲城市将肯定会被间接影响,朝向对于该群体更开明和包容的方向迈进.我们新加坡的同志意识到这种关系,应当响应台北同志群体的号召,尽力参与或通过其他方式来支持这类在台北的大型活动.台北同南韩首尔,新加坡及香港被经济学家称为"亚洲四小龙",是在本区域的四个经济火车头,随着经济的发达,在发展高档产品和服务方面都不遗余力.吸引创意人才是它们在角逐经济领先地位上至关重要的资本.如新政府仍旧刚愎自用,不在包容同志群体及一般性非主流群体方面大刀阔斧的改变方针,其后果将是创意人才的流失.希望有关的决策人慎重从事,务必在这不被重视方面迎头赶上.
18. 2009-11-03 22:37  
lol @ #2: imagine her doing that..lol...hilarious...bt seriously, yeah, about time we build our own self-esteem AND a backbone to stop mimicking overrated foreign 'gay icons'.
DISCLAIMER: I'm not racist,, just anti-imperialist.
回應#19於於2009-11-03 22:40被作者刪除。
20. 2009-11-04 01:19  
well done taiwan! - my money is on you being the first country in asia to get proper legal and partnership rights.
21. 2009-11-04 02:01  
I agree with #20. No one hosts a party quite like Taiwan!
22. 2009-11-04 03:32  
It's good to hear that progress is made in acceptance of human beings who are just human beings as anyone else in this side of the world also. Hope it's an opening for other countries in this region. Congratulations for those who were at the forefront of this movement.
23. 2009-11-04 05:39  
Obviously Taiwan is moving forward into the 21st century, Hooray for the local LGBT gays and lesbians!
One can only hopes that events like these will resonate through out other Asia countries where LGBT members are still victims of homophobia and social stigmas.
24. 2009-11-04 06:02  
FABULOUS!!!!!!
25. 2009-11-04 07:03  
sweet
26. 2009-11-04 09:36  
Heh, this is really really good news. Great to read about it.
And those Taiwanese men, are so stunningly handsome! Hmm.
Cheers and well done to all concerned with the Parade!
Ben in Australia
27. 2009-11-04 17:05  
Is it just me, or has it occurred to anyone how "normal" or natural nearly everyone appears in this parade? One suspicious-looking bride perhaps, but no sex-obsessed bizarre parody of a Mardi Gras in pink here - well, at least judging from the above pictures alone. If you didn't read Chinese and weren't told that this was a pride parade (is the word "gay" even absent from the official description?) one might think that this was just a youthful, exuberant celebration of some kind... congratulations, young Taipei, on being yourselves, and perhaps so naturally "post-stereotype", or so it seems...
Maybe that's why Eternal Summer is on my favourite-movies list, too. It isn't a good "gay" movie - it's just a very good movie about life, loneliness and love. It's about being born human in this crazy, wonderful, world. And about having to grow up too...
28. 2009-11-04 19:08  
jeeez I hope it was better than that shabby old event we have here each year
29. 2009-11-05 07:13  
I post some related videos on Facebook and the audience reaction are very very nice. I have been there in 2007. Later, twpride became very popular event among Japanese. Go Taiwan Go! 多謝、我愛水男孩^^ No more tears. Yes, we can.
30. 2009-11-06 00:04  
I'm so proud :) Can't t go back to Taiwan with my gf next year. Congrats and a special thanks to the organizers and those in the parade!
31. 2009-11-06 13:02  
way to go, my Taiwanese fellows.
you are all rock stars!!! ~Muah~
32. 2009-11-06 15:09  
This is so great! Nice to see Asian countries moving ahead =D
33. 2009-11-08 15:38  
As an Asian/American originally from SF (and now living in Asia), I was moved at the turn out and success of the parade!!! CONGRATULATIONS to all the organizers so such a major event! A role-model for all of ASIA and more power to you!!! Count me in next year!!! :}o
34. 2009-11-23 21:51  
Taipei is my gay home too.

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