"Love is love" At Taipei Pride in Taiwan[Marriage for All: Questioning the Right to Oppose]

"It’s just marriage,"a joint feature by Kyunghyang Shinmun and Amnesty International Korea
③ At Taipei Pride, the largest queer parade in Asia

"Love is love."
This is how Elen (31), a Malaysian who attended Taipei Pride in Taiwan on October 28, defined diversity. "Diversity means love should not be blocked by reasons, such as gender identity, age, and gender." "We need to have pride in ourselves. Regardless of what sexual orientation we may have, that is also ‘me,’" said her lover, Sylvie (30).
Near the end of every October, various corners of Taiwan are dyed in the colors of the rainbow. It’s the week when Asia’s largest queer parade is held in the capital city, Taipei. This year, the theme of the 21st Taipei Pride was "Stand with Diversity."It means that society should embrace migrant workers and people with disabilities, as well as LGBTQ people. The Kyunghyang Shinmun took part in Taipei Pride, which attracts people from all over the world, to see how the scene differed from the queer parade in Korea.

■ Taiwan was in a festive mood from the eve of the parade
On the afternoon of October 27, the eve of the parade, Ximen Honglou Square, referred to as the Myeong-dong of Taipei, was filled with singing and covered in rainbow placards everywhere. First, at 7 p.m. there was the Rainbow Cultural Festival and the Trans March, which could be seen as a prelude to Taipei Pride. The Trans March was an event to enhance the understanding of transgender people (people whose social gender does not correspond with their biological sex) and to stand in solidarity with people possessingdiverse gender identities. This year, it was the fifth Trans March held in Taiwan. The event is still new in South Korea, but in the United States, France, Canada, and Japan, they hold a Trans March during their queer parade. YouTubers Leo (31) and Kai (34), a gay couple, said, "In the early days, there were many people who opposed the transgender event, but now in its fifth year, people seem accustomed to it," and added, "We are capturing the event on a YouTube video for people who can’t participate in the parade."
Around 7:30 p.m. organizations that stand in solidarity, centered on transgender groups, began marching from the entrance to Ximen Honglou (Red House) Square. Nearby storeowners and citizens cheered the participants waving pink and blue flags symbolizing the transgender people. Kang Hyun-wu (25) from South Korea said, "I think an event like this is possible in Taiwan because they get a lot of support from the government and various organizations."
This year, queer parades were blocked in several areas in South Korea. The city of Seoul did not permit the use of Seoul Plaza for the Seoul Queer Culture Festival. It was the first time the city denied use of the square since 2015, except when distancing measures were enforced due to covid. Hong Joon-pyo(Jun-pyo), the mayor of Daegu stirred controversy when he said, "I wish they wouldn’t hold festivals that citizens hate," referring to the queer culture festival. Meanwhile, Taiwan was the first Asian country to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage in 2019 and in May 2023, the country also passed a bill expanding adoption rights to same-sex couples.

■ Shouting "Just marriage!" in the Taipei City Hall Plaza

"This year in South Korea, there was a court ruling that said the state should recognize the eligibility of same-sex couples as dependents for the National Health Insurance scheme. That doesn’t mean they recognized same-sex marriage. As a leader (in legalizing same-sex marriage for the first time in Asia), Taiwan can show other countries that legalizing same-sex marriage is not a big deal in guaranteeing LGBTQ rights," said Chiu E-Ling, national director of Amnesty International Taiwan, on a truck in front of the Taipei City Hall building. When Chiu shouted in awkward Korean, "Just marriage,"the campaign slogan of Amnesty International Korea, participants applauded their support. "Let’s all show our support so that same-sex marriage can be legalized in South Korea!"said the host. Asia’s largest queer parade practically began by informing people of the situation in South Korea.
The parade began in the square in front of Taipei City Hall at around 2:20 p.m.
October 28. On top of the city hall building, the national flag of Taiwan and a rainbow flag were hoisted side by side and the Taipei Plaza was packed with participants. The people taking part in the parade showed off their identities in their own unique ways. We could see the faces of various participants, such as gay and lesbian couples holding hands in matching T-shirts, a woman pushing a stroller wrapped in some rainbow cloth, a transgender person with long curly hair and colorful makeup, and adisabled person in a wheelchair. Chi Chia-wei, a pioneer of the LGBTQ rights movement in Taiwan was also there. Chi Chia-wei had fought to legalize same-sex marriage through countless petitions, civil lawsuits, and administrative lawsuits for over three decades since 1986. With a rainbow headband, Chi marched forward waving a rainbow flag.

This was the first queer parade after transnational same-sex marriage was legalized in January. Edwin (31), a Taiwanese national, and Hanson (29), a Malaysian, who got married in August, held hands and said, "It’s more meaningful because it’s a parade we are taking part in as a married couple." As for the expansion of adoption rights in May, Edwin said, "We can now dream of adopting a child together, something we thought would never be possible."

■ "The square must be for all citizens."
Taipei Pride started out with around 800 participants in 2003. The number of participants gradually increased and now the event attracts 100,000-200,000 people. The record of 200,000 participants was set in the event held in 2019 when same-sex marriage was legalized. According to the organizers, over 176,000 people took part on October 28, nearly 1.5 times more than the 120,000 participants last year. The parade started from the City Hall Plaza and split into roads in the north and the south. It continued for over two hours, covering a total distance of slightly over 4 km.
For the LGBTQ population, the City Hall Plaza is a space of liberation and refuge. It was evident that people from many different countries visited Taiwan during the parade period. Samuel Silva (38), a Spanish national taking part in his second Taipei Pride, said, "It’s comforting to know that there are other people with the same voice like me." "In San Francisco, it’s hard to march because of people against us, but in Taiwan we can march freely," said Marc (32) from San Francisco, adding, "I think the CityHall Plaza is acting as a hub connecting everyone."
The festive atmosphere was largely due to the absence of opposition and hate groups disrupting the parade. The police concentrated on maintaining order rather than controlling the parade. The Taipei police officers we met at Taipei Pride described the situation in South Korea as similar to thatin Taiwan ten years ago, when opposition groups tried to disrupt the parade. According to them, since the Taiwanese government legalized same-sex marriage, the police were moving accordingly.
This year, the Seoul queer paradehad to march along Eulji-ro because the city denied organizers the use of Seoul Plaza. One South Korean participant (27), who asked to remain anonymous, said, "It felt like the city was denying LGBTQ people as citizens." "In South Korea, we have to worry about whether the parade can be held due to disruptions from hate groups, but in Taiwan, you get the feeling that the plaza belongs to all citizens," he added.
The parade was followed by statements of solidarity from each country. Yang Sun-woo, head of the Seoul Queer Culture Festival Organizing Committee stepped up and said, "The Seoul queer parade has had trouble every year to secure a venue." Yang continued and said, "We will walk together in solidarity for an equal society where diversity is respected."The participants applauded Yang and expressed their support. The Seoul Queer Culture Festival Organizing Committee opened a booth at Taipei Pride for the first time this year. Yang said, "In Taiwan, many corporations, as well as civic groups, take part, and I wish South Korean companies will also change their perception." Over a hundred companies opened booths during Taipei Pride this year, five times the number of booths run by civil society organizations.

■ "Open to all possibilities when determining the future"
Even in Taiwan, there are differences in perception between generations. "I’ve been dating my partner who is five years younger than me for about three years, but it’s hard to consider marriage," said Chou Dixon (35), adding, "Since I’m an only child, I haven’t been able to come out to my family yet." Dr. Wu Yi-chen, a psychiatrist at Hsinchu Mackay Memorial Hospital, said, "There are many people with stereotypes about LGBTQ people among the older generation or because of religious reasons, so we need to continue to campaign."
Teenagers stressed the need for more education in schools. Since the Gender Equity Education Act was introduced in 2004, Taiwan has been teaching LGBTQ rights in the secondary school curriculum. But some say it’s not enough. "We need to learn more about basic rights in school, because the more we learn, the more we will realize that we are not different from each other," said Anita (17). Many people pushing baby carriages could be spotted in this year’s parade. Dong Sherry (32), who came with her husband and three-year-old son, said she liked the parade’s message, "Stand with diversity," and added, "I hope that when my son grows up, all possibilities will be open to him so that he can determine his own future."

The human rights and civil society organizations in South Korea, Taiwan and Japan played a major role in changing laws and systems to ensure that people were not restricted in forming families because of their gender identities. The Kyunghyang Shinmun conducted interviews with the basic rights and civil society organizations of each country to find out what actions they took to expand LGBTQ rights and how South Korea, advancing at a relatively slower rate, can move forward.

■ Taiwan, "Will You Say ‘Yes’?"
In Taiwan, five women’s and LGBTQ groups came together in November 2016 and formed the
Taiwan Equality Campaign. On Human Rights Day (Dec. 10) that year, they held a concert for marriage equality, which attracted 250,000 people. On May 24, 2017, when the Judicial Yuan ruled that the current Civil Code clauserestricting marriage to heterosexual couples was unconstitutional, the Platform, along with 20,000 supporters went to the Legislative Yuan and called for lawmakers to expedite a bill to legalize same-sex marriage. Li Shing, advocacy officer of the Taiwan LGBTQ Family Rights Advocacy, said, "It is important that the demands of the people reach politicians."
Amnesty International Taiwan organized a campaign titled, "Taiwan, Will You Say ‘Yes’?" in 2017, which received support from over forty countries around the world. "Legalizing same-sex marriage allowed more people to choose marriage and gave them the freedom to form families," said Chiu E-Ling, the national director of Amnesty International Taiwan, adding, "Equal rights is one of the fundamental principles of the constitution in many countries."She mentioned that Amnesty Taiwan was focusing on the South Korean court’s decision in February, which recognized the eligibility of same-sex couples to be listed as dependents for the National Health Insurance and said, "I think citizens can use this ruling to press the South Korean government through embassies and international organizations."
In 2018, when there was a referendum by organizations opposing same-sex marriage,
human rights and civil society groups launched a public defense through the press and stood by the LGBTQ community. As a result, same-sex marriage was legalized and in January same-sex marriage between people of different nationalities became possible, with the exception of China. Chien Chi-chieh, secretary-general of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights said, "We need to resolve restrictions on same-sex couples that are not applied to heterosexual couples." They are currently representing a Taiwanese and Chinese same-sex couple in a legal battle.

■ Japan, "Marriage for All"
Japan is slowly changing, too. Kato Takeharu, one of the legal representatives for Marriage for All, a public interest corporation in Japan, won a ruling from the Sapporo District Court in 2021 that banning same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. In court, Kato argued the illegality of the law saying, "We are demanding the right to marry the person we love." The day the court recognized the unconstitutional nature of the law, Kato said, "I couldn’t stop crying because I was so moved by the fact that the court had accepted the existence of LGBTQ people, who had been ignored for so long, and answered them."
The Sapporo Court ruling has been followed by a series of other court decisions. "Four of the five (district) courts have either ruled that the restrictions were unconstitutional or could potentially violate the Constitution, and this means the courts are asking the Diet to swiftly amend the law." "Inaddition to a Supreme Court ruling recognizing the unconstitutional nature of the law, the role of legislators is paramount in legalizing same-sex marriage," he argued, adding, "We plan to work with lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party as well as the opposition parties and campaign to secure a majority of legislators to support the legalization of same-sex marriage by the coming 2025."
Amnesty International Japan has adopted a strategy to make public the voices of young people. A survey of 2000 people ages 18-25 in 2021 showed that 80% of the respondents were in favor of enacting a bill banning discrimination against LGBTQ people. Higuchi Toshiki, former campaign coordinator of Amnesty International Japan who organized the survey, said, "During the parliamentary session, we plan to highlight the concerns young people have about the Liberal Democratic Party for blocking the anti-discrimination act."

NGOs are also working to provide information so that voters can personally search for and see where each legislator stands on the issue and provide grounds to exercise their votes. Taiwan’s Rainbow Equal Rights Big Platform will provide a find-the-candidate-that-fits-me service, ahead of the presidential election next year. People can personally find their representative’s position on gender issues on the website. Japan’s Marriage for All shares details of interviews with lawmakers on the topic of same-sex marriage in a section titled, "Let’s Increase the Number of Supportive Legislators." Voters can find information to help them determine how to exercise their votes on these websites.

■ South Korea, "Just Marriage"
Amnesty International Korea launched the online campaign, "My Friend’s Wedding: Just Marriage" urging support and solidarity for marriage equality in July. The campaign invited participants to design their own digital characters and attend a virtual wedding of a same-sex couple as guests. After taking part in the campaign, participants could download images of their personalized characters and share them on social media conveying a message of solidarity. "The purpose is to tell people that banning same-sex couples from getting married is outright discrimination and to put an end to such discrimination," explained Myung Hee-su, a campaign coordinator of Amnesty International Korea.
In South Korea, there is no legal clause in the Civil Act prohibiting same-sex marriage, but marriage registrations have not been accepted due to conventional discrimination. "Not accepting registrations for same-sex marriage is administrative discrimination," said Myung, adding, "We need judicial proceedings affirming the unconstitutional nature of this problem or a legislative process that can clearly state that same-sex marriage is to be accepted."
Next year in South Korea, Gagoonet (a.k.a. Korean Network for Partnership and Marriage Rights of LGBT) and Rainbow Action Against Sexual-Minority Discrimination are expected to lead a litigation appealing the state’s refusal to accept registrations for same-sex marriage. Yi Ho-rim, head of the Gagoonetexecutive committee said, "Around the second half of next year, several same-sex couples plan to file an appeal together."
What is important is a space where people can have a better understanding of the LGBTQ community. "Some politicians are blocking the flow of change, and as a voter, we need to send a message to them that it is not good to go against the general trend," said Ryu Min-hee, a lawyer at Korean Lawyers for Public Interest and Human Rights (KLPH) who won the court ruling on the National Health Insurance scheme in February. "We need to keep creating spaces enabling more dialogue," she added.