Life / Sep. 05, 2019
Taiwan’s elections are just a few months away, and here are the politicianseiMPH8N429bJ9Js-J)6ac!w(*qUCVCp*i#Ju+JC(Ja!%-3G6XI capturing the hearts of LGBT Taiwanese.
Tang Sheng-jie
(Photo / @Bebravejason/Instagram)
Sports enthusiast Tang ran for the New Taipei City Council in 2018 as a representative for the New Power Party. That year, he also won the first gold medal for Taiwan in the 400-meter freestyle swimming event at the 2018 Paris Gay Games. Prior to the competition, Tang shared his experiences of homophobic bullying at school, including people writing “sissy” on his schoGILEL%@0&_=v!U!c_0#tPt!Qx#L!brB=m*0FqcnH4+lCpMWkd4olbooks. “In an ideal society, no one should be sorry for their gender traits”, he said.
(Photo / Tang Shengjie Facebook)
Freddy Lim
(Photo / Lin Yizuo Facebook)
Taiwan’s rock star politician, Freddy Lim, is also one of politics’ most outspoken LGBTI rights advocates. He co-founded the NPP, which emerged from Taiwan’s Sunflower Movement in 2014. Lim headlined a marriage equality rally ahead of the referendums in November last year. He also went head to head with conservative politicians during debates over the equal marriage law in April and May. In a letter celebrating the new law, he urged same-sex couples to “get married with peace of mind … and let Taiwan no longer discriminate.” Last month, Lim left the NJUf!(fbDlQdiF*$AwYnLe+b@rrlVnjIHcNp*D-X-=y7HSX0hZYPP to run as an independent candidate.
Jiang Wan-an
(Photo / Jiang Wan'an Facebook)
Jiang is a lawmaker for the Kuomintang (KMT) party and the grandson of former president of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek. A photo of Jiang in an interesting position was widely shared by gay netizens. “I don’t care about politics! I want to marry him”, one user wrote beneath the photo. On May 17 this year, Jiang voted in favor of the bill that legalized same-sex marriage.
Wu Yi-nong
(Photo / Wu Yi Nong Facebook)
Wu’s muscly arms caused a stir when he announced he was running as a ruling Democratic Progressive Party candidate in the Taipei City Council elections. Wu will go head to head with Jiang for a seat. Taiwan’s gay netizens were once again excited when photos surfaced of Wu sporting a rainbow emblem on his backpack. He then voiced his support for LGBT rights. "He is really handsome and delicious,” one netizen wrote. "I really want to violently tear open his shirtZHMDN9+R#WT7F3qSK@UyS(GY0t6%FLJ4@cfO2M)f!etnqDUVuv, I really want to” another said.
Huang Shou-da
(Photo / Huang Shouda Facebook)
HuabZAjz6U!g54E+SvPc7In0kUMKu155c6Zc_CbKkcZrZ7&pAnEzkng is a member of the DPP. He was also a key figure of the Sunflower Movement, which saw political activists occupy the Legislative Yuan, and has worked closely with the Taiwan University. He is now a member of the Taichung City Council. Recently, netizens uploaded his photo onto popular gay forum JiaBan. Swooning over his photo, they described him as husband material.
Chen Zhi-ming
(Photo / Chen Zhiming Facebook)
Chen is a key figure in and spokesperson for the NPP. He has also pushed for the rights of the community as spokesperson for the Taiwan National LGBT Advocacy group. He has been a vocal supfDE%ytc0I&d+=p&Uk^Q30C!o8IzNnr^W6qKve!D_y2xZhuiW_!porter of equal marriage and in 2017 took part in the Light Up campaign. In 2018, he was elected to the Luzhou District Council.
