"Towards Inclusion" opens a new page

The 22nd Taiwan Gay Pride Parade will be held today (26th) with the theme of "Towards Inclusion, Interweaving and Coexistence". It is expected that 180,000 people will participate in the event. This year, not only will the number of floats reach 35, setting a new record, but there will also be 113 stalls participating in the Rainbow Market, plus the response of 20 friendly hotels, showing Taiwan's important position in the issue of gender equality. The organizer, the Taiwan Rainbow Citizen Action Association, said that it hopes that through this event, the demands of different communities will not only be empty slogans, but can be implemented in real life.

A look at the parade route and traffic control for the Gay Pride Parade

In order to allow participants to participate in the parade smoothly, the organizers have specially planned two routes, north and south. The north route is composed of three teams, red, yellow, and orange, starting from the square in front of Taipei City Hall, passing Ren'ai Road, Dunhua South Road, Zhongxiao East Road, and Yixian Road before returning; the south route is composed of three teams, purple, green, and blue, passing Ren'ai Road, Guangfu South Road, Xinyi Road, and Dunhua South Road and returning to the City Hall Square. In response to the needs of the event, traffic control will be implemented on roads around Taipei City Hall from 8 o'clock tonight until late tomorrow night, and a total of 59 buses will be diverted. It is recommended that the public take the MRT to Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall Station, Yongchun Station, Xinyi Anhe Station and other stations to avoid the crowded City Hall Station.

Politicians gather to show support

This year's parade has received support from many politicians. Vice President Xiao Meiqin and Vice Premier Cheng Lijun will attend in person and walk in the red team on the north route. The Democratic Progressive Party also formed a team to participate with the slogan "Democracy, Diversity, and Inclusion, DPP supports you/You be yourself." Former President Tsai Ing-wen also posted on the social platform that "free love is now a practice in Taiwan," and mentioned that although there was a lot of pressure when promoting marriage equality, it was because of everyone's courage and confidence that Taiwan took this historic step.

First time seeing a float organized by an international chamber of commerce

One of the biggest highlights of this year's parade was the first time that foreign chambers of commerce formed a joint float to participate. The Australia and New Zealand Chamber of Commerce (ANZCham Taiwan) and the Netherlands Office in Taiwan jointly organized a four-nation joint float to showcase the shared values of diversity, equality and inclusion among the Netherlands, New Zealand, Australia, Sweden and Taiwan. The float was named "The Netherlands, New Zealand and Australia Proudly Walk Together" and used pink as the main color. The famous New Zealand drag queen Taipei Popcorn was invited to lead the float to show the support of international companies for gender equality in Taiwan.

The purple brigade of the gay parade becomes the focus

Another feature of this year's parade is that for the first time, a drag queen group will lead the parade. The purple group led by the "Queens of the Bay Area" will bring an unprecedented visual feast to the parade. The organizers said that this will not only show the diversity of drag queen performances, but also hope to break the public's stereotypes about this group, so that more people can recognize and understand the artistic value of drag culture.

International reputation reaches new heights

This year's parade attracted groups such as Hong Kong's Datong Gay Harmony, South Korea's Seoul Queer Culture Festival, and Japan's Kyushu Colorful Change Lab, demonstrating the influence of Taiwan's gay parades in East Asia. Not only that, Japanese AV actors and actresses came to Taiwan to respond to the event, including Yamagishi Kika, Fujita Kozue, and others. When they were interviewed, they praised Taiwan's high degree of freedom and that "there will be no prejudice because of gender or occupation."

Corporate response to innovation record

This year's parade received unprecedented corporate support, with more than 20 hotels joining the "friendly" ranks to provide gender-friendly accommodation. At the same time, Wangdao Bank launched a special event for the 6th anniversary of the Rainbow Identity Card, with a consumer rebate of up to 6%, and promised to allocate part of the income to support the Taiwan Gay and LGBT Counseling Hotline Association. In addition, brands such as MYFEEL and MAC also launched limited products to show corporate support for gender equality.

Rainbow Market reaches new heights

This year's Rainbow Market has a total of 113 booths, the most in history. Many of them are local cultural and creative brands, showing Taiwanese designers' attention to gender issues. The market starts at 12 noon. In addition to a wide range of cultural and creative products, there are also 30 charity booths, allowing participants to gain a deeper understanding of issues related to gender equality.

The parade will be full of exciting activities

In addition to the parade, there will also be exciting stage performances. Well-known artists Luo Shifeng and Wan Fang will perform on stage to show the support of Taiwan's entertainment industry for gender diversity. The event will start at 1 pm, officially start at 2 pm, and is expected to end at 6 pm. The organizers especially remind participants to pay attention to sun protection and replenish water.

Looking to the future and moving forward

The Taiwan Pride Parade is entering its 22nd year. It is not only the largest gay parade in Asia, but has also gradually become a regional indicator of gender equality. Since the legalization of same-sex marriage in 2019, Taiwan has continued to move forward on the road to gender equality, but the organizers emphasized that there is still a lot of room for improvement, including issues such as the rights of transgender people and the protection of diverse families, which require continued attention from society.

Conclusion

The 22nd Taiwan Gay Pride Parade is not just a parade, but also a symbol of Taiwan society's tolerance and support for diverse values. From government agencies to the business community, from local groups to international organizations, all sectors worked together to show their importance on gender equality. This grand event, which is said to have 180,000 participants, once again showed the world Taiwan's status as a beacon of gender equality in Asia, and also prepared for the next milestone. The organizers hope that through the annual parade activities, more people will understand and support gender equality, and jointly create a more inclusive and humane society.