Taiwan homosexuals hold annual march to demand equal rights

Oct 30, 2010, 14:20 GMT

Taipei - Around 30,000 Taiwan homosexuals and their supporters marched through Taipei on Saturday to demand equal rights.

Shouting slogans and waving rainbow flags, symbol of the gay rights movement, the participants began the Gay Pride March from the square in front of the presidential office building.

After circling the centre of Taipei, they returned to the same square to hold a concert to highlight discrimination faced by homosexuals and transgender people at work and in school.

Under the slogan Out & Vote, the organizers urged homosexuals to vote only for candidates who support gay rights in local elections next month.

Among Asian countries, Taiwan is one of the most tolerant towards gays. But homosexuals want the government do more to uphold their rights as well as legalize gay marriage.

Lin Bei-shan, a student from a nursing school outside Taipei, was attending the gay march for the first time, together with four schoolmates who are also lesbians.

'At my school, my classmates know I am a lesbian because I am dressed in a neutral tone. But once we graduate, we will face discrimination from society,' she told the German Press Agency dpa.

'So we demand the government recognize homosexual partnerships and legalize marriage between homosexuals,' she added.

Many Taipei residents lined the streets to watch the march pass by, taking photos and clapping to show their support.

'I think it is a good thing that they march. Society should give them more rights,' a Taipei lawyer, who gave only his surname, Liu, told dpa.

The march was the eighth since it was first held in Taipei in 2003.

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