McDonald's Taiwan Releases Pro-Gay Rights Video: But How is Hong Kong Doing?
The fast food chain has come out with a pro-gay rights video, but the SAR lags behind.
McDonald’s Taiwan has been attacked—and praised—for a viral ad in which a young man comes out to his father by writing “I like boys” on his coffee cup. His father initially appears upset and storms off, but he soon returns to their table to add three Chinese characters to his son’s message, forming the sentence, “I accept that you like boys”.
The 90-second video, which was uploaded to McDonald’s Taiwan’s Facebook page last Friday, has since been shared more than 12,000 times on the social media platform, and viewed more than 1.3 million times on the company’s YouTube channel.
The video drew criticism from a Taiwanese anti-LGBT group, which slammed McDonald’s, saying “The act of using McDonald’s washrooms makes us feel corrupted.”
“This ad sends a wonderful message,” says Brian Leung, of Hong Kong LGBT charity Big Love Alliance. “McDonald’s is a family-oriented company and it’s very accessible, so the fact that it touches on a once-taboo topic makes the ad an important step forward in promoting sexual diversity in Asia.”
