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Taipei Holds First Pride Parade After This Year’s Passed Legislation On Same-Sex Marriage
Around 200,000 people attend Taipei Pride, to celebrate this year’s major win for the island as the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
By Alexey Kim
Due to Taiwan passing same-sex marriage legislation on May 24 of this year, Taipei Pride was slated to be the biggest one yet. The tumultuous history of getting marriage between same-sex couples legalized spanned almost two decades, culminating in the Constitutional Court’s ruling that the Civil Code’s clauses relating to marriage were unconstitutional. The person responsible for setting the landmark precedent in Asia is 61-year-old gay / AIDS pioneer / activist Chi Chia-wei, who set the train in motion by applying for a marriage license back in 2013. Chi Chia-wei has been an activist for over 30 years and was the first person in Taiwan to come out as gay on television, during a self-organized press conference back in 1986.
The theme for this year’s parade was “Together, Make Taiwan Better,” marking the 17th year of its observance. Nearly 200,000 people attended this year’s march according to parade organizers Taiwan LGBT Pride. The 3.4-mile-long parade route began at Taipei City Hall and ended at the Presidential Palace, where a performance stage greeted everyone who managed to…
