East Asia’s Largest Ever Pride March Held in Taiwan

A couple weeks ago, Taiwan’s 21st annual Pride march attracted almost 180,000 participants in what was reportedly East Asia’s biggest ever LGBTQ+ Pride parade. The event, which had the theme “Stand with Diversity,” also celebrated several of the country’s recent victories for queer rights.

The Pride march had an almost 50% increase in attendance compared to the year before. Thousands traveled from neighboring countries to participate in the parade, and some even flew in from as far as the U.S. and U.K. to celebrate and bond with their fellow queers. The celebration featured drag performances, a “Rainbow Market,” and more. However, the biggest highlight was, of course, the march. Attendees packed the streets of central Taipei, proudly waving rainbow flags in a massive parade which culminated at the city’s town hall.

This Pride march came on the heels of several major victories for LGBTQ+ rights in Taiwan. Just months before, Taiwanese legislature both voted to legalize queer adoption and affirmed legal recognition for same-gender couples who were married abroad. These changes, among others, are representative of the slow but steady progress towards equality in Taiwanese politics.

LGBTQ+ rights in the nation have had a tumultuous past, as several attempts at marriage equality were shot down by conservative Christian advocates. Finally, in 2019, Taiwan made history as the first Asian country to legalize same-gender marriage. Nevertheless, there is still much to do in Taiwan, especially for transgender citizens (currently trans people are still required to undergo gender-affirming surgery before they can change gender markers on official documents). One can only hope that legislation benefiting LGBTQ+ rights will continue to succeed.

Indeed, the parade bore an undeniable aura of electoral politics. Most notably, Vice President Lai Ching-te of the Democratic Progressive Party showed up to demonstrate his support for LGBTQ+ people in Taiwan.

He marched behind a banner proclaiming “Democracy Supports Gays” amid cries of support from other parade participants, becoming the highest-ranking government official to attend Taiwan Pride. Lai, who is the DPP’s primary candidate for January’s presidential elections, says in a speech at the event, “I want to explain to all my good friends that marriage equality is not the end but the starting point of Taiwan’s equal rights culture.”

Photo courtesy of @iingwen on X