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(Taipei) Thousands of gays, lesbians and
transsexuals marched through the streets of Taipei on the weekend, showing their
pride and calling for marriage and civil rights protections.
The parade marked the climax of two weeks of
pride celebrations in the capital that featured human rights forums and cultural
events. The highlight of this weekend's parade came when the march came to a grinding
halt while a Presbyterian pastor performed a mock wedding ceremony for
four couples.
Taiwanese gay activist Hsu You-sheng said the
ceremony illustrated the lack of rights same-sex couples have. He said
that gay and lesbian couples who are in loving relationships should be given the same right to get married as the
heterosexuals.
He added that a diversified society should tolerate people
with different sexual preference and homosexuals should not feel shy about their
sexual orientation.
The pride parade was the seventh held in Taipei,
but this was the first that had the backing of the city government.
Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou helped hoist the
rainbow flag in a plaza in front of city hall to mark the start of pride on September 18 while other
political leaders and a number of gays looked on waving rainbow colored
pompoms.
In 2004, a study commissioned by the Taiwan Gay
and Lesbian Human Rights Association found that 36 percent of Taiwan's gays have
been harassed or discriminated against because of their sexuality.
The survey showed that the majority of harassment
cases occurred on university campuses, but almost as many cases were perpetrated
by family members. A quarter of the cases occurred in the workplace.
President Chen Shui-bian has asked Parliament to
draft a Human Rights Basic Law which legalizes gay marriage.
It the law is passed, it would make Taiwan the first country in Asia - and the
fifth in the world after the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Canada - where gays
can marry.
©365Gay.com 2006
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