Tens of thousands march for gay rights in Taiwan

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Taipei on Saturday for Asia’s largest gay rights parade, with many urging parliament to push through a controversial bill recognising same-sex marriage.

Supporters from Taiwan and abroad waved placards reading “equal marriage rights” and “support gay marriage” as they marched through the capital for the 12th annual “Walk in Queers’ Shoes” parade.

Gay and lesbian groups in Taiwan, one of Asia’s more liberal societies, have been urging the government for years to legalise same-sex marriage. Parliament started reviewing a bill on the issue last year.

But activists marching on Saturday expressed mixed opinions about the future of the bill, with some predicting it would not survive strong opposition from anti-gay marriage groups who staged a massive counter-rally late last year.

“Conservative forces have been lobbying hard against the bill and accused us of demanding privileges, when we are asking for equal rights,” said organiser Albert Yang.

But others, like graduate student Wang Chun-ling, were hopeful that Taiwan would join the global trend towards recognising same-sex unions.

“Equal marriage right is a basic human right and I hope the conservative and religious groups will be more tolerant and less narrow-minded,” Wang said.