Thousands rally in Taiwan for gay marriage
By Micah Sulit
Thousands of people took to the streets in Taipei today to push for gay marriage, demonstrating in front of the headquarters of Taiwan’s ruling and opposition parties before marching to Parliament, the China Post reports.
The campaigners waved rainbow flags, carried slogans and threw rainbow-coloured balloons at the office of the Kuomintang, the ruling political party.
A gay marriage bill has been held up in the Taiwanese Parliament after passing its first reading in 2013 and its first review in the judiciary last year.
But campaigners believe that the time is ripe for marriage equality in gay-friendly Taiwan.
“Taiwan society has reached the point of acceptance of gay marriage,” demonstrator Rafael Tsai told Reuters. “It’s a shame our politicians don’t seem to be on the same level as the people.”
Taiwan is holding its next presidential elections in January 2016. Gay rights activists are hopeful that a pro-gay party will win and pass the marriage bill, making Taiwan the first Asian nation to achieve marriage equality.
The history July 26 decision of the US Supreme Court to legalise same-sex marriage has given the Taiwanese LGBT movement a boost. Today’s demonstration was originally set for earlier this month, according to the China Post, but was postponed out of respect for hundreds who were injured in a water park explosion on July 27.