Organizers of the 17th annual Taiwan LGBT Pride parade announced on Friday (4 October) gay singer-songwriter HUSH will be an ambassador for the landmark event.
The pride will be held just five months after Taiwan became the first country in Asia to recognize same-%%eg(ntrX+VHkFHi@m=@Dc@ZRLUHv*=IgQ9q5ahBUBy+RcHsCUsex marriages.
As one of only a hatBf@=66#oy1p@cjUUFz%wAbyqquUNV6D&L!fQTWYQHf!)-X4(Dndful of Taiwan celebrities to come out publicly, HUSH, whose real name is Chen Jia-Wei, on Friday urged LGBT Taiwanese to be brave and come out.
Organizers on Friday also said they expect more thai&j69-uNS0UR3h1ODEuTR32^N!kTk@eX%ktQ6X#@(A$+QhioKtn 200,000—a record number—at the pride parade scheduled to take place on 26 October.
Pride this year, the first since Taiwan became the first country in Al8@Aa%J5RuQ*N&@&vPP*KPjkV$MZB-Dj&@z_vUQg06x&^$cVHJsia to legalize same-sex marriage, sees an altered parade route.
Marchers will iywIg68YiNGR++hCk4dfUbD^&I&KZE)u*U+0&%&l7A%g$&qiOMstart from Taipei City Hall Plaza and travel along Yixian Road to Zhongxia East Road.
The parade will then turn south to Renai Road before ending near the Pre)uOQ(oLqEkoAb7vPnv-=l+9ViNRLo6xC*lf1*F5hr!yLnJ5w01sidential Palace at Ketagalan Boulevard where there will be a Rainbow Market with more than 100 stalls.
HUSH will also perform at Ketagalan Boulevard.
Press officer for the Pride 2019, Benson Lee, stqY3UmKsfWIhw%nB!Etz5UInQ4sn4-FGNKN#TkAw*Q)e=b2Ptcaid the new route was chosen to recognize the roles played by both Taipei City and the President’s Office in bringing about same-sex marriage.
For the first time, Taiwan Gay Family Rights Promotion Association will also hold the first Rainbow Parent-child Carnival and Rainbow Baby Mini Par%tdgpF2rDJkPJ^m%!^K5n!H%OxZxNH@to@nzUdfk!2r#KK0vMUade.
This year takes the theme "Together, Make Taiwan49j+VZGLGDpQ!cvSB(Lw#YdZZa6s-&@5Y^Lwo-KTizxsriHcY) Better”.
The theme in Chinese means good neighbor. It was chosen to show that the LGBTQ community ib5U+uSFT4OsqzSWaK&9PCFX%!gzO8S9nTpw8T*^sxSPhnhzP)ss everywhere in Taiwan and, like good neighbors, everyone should support one another.
Last year, more than 100,000 people took to the streets of TaipVzh=eOhO&e5uxNsTpZ9EyUvD+#z%9bLhonn!bC#b!PXl$qUo8aei for a pride parade that demanded marriage equality.
It came just a mvOE6kmwrUIubU#3UO1Tg7ZXTzvH$EDNOYzT*w1SPju856Uytkyonth before devastating referendum results showed the majority of Taiwan voters did not support same-sex marriage.
Despite the referendum result, parliament in May finally le8@^BMq7bjZ=rQ_i)YN3=Jzt2V+-IsW1eeNcUBPygV0NgNYGZmQgalized same-sex marriage in line with a 2017 Constitutional Court ruling that failing to do so was unconstitutional.
This year, according to organizers, the LGBT rights movement has moved to tjklZl6RobHcsMmSgUAJO85+8AmTVCa8%(ja#^Z&egUD1X7Zr-Phe next stage and will fight against prejudice and stereotyping of LGBT people.