Tag: gay taiwan

Same-sex marriage and anti-gay protestors scuffle in Taiwan

Pro and anti-gay-marriage protestors attended rival rallies in Taipei’s Freedom Square on Sunday as a bill to legalize same-sex marriage is before Taiwan’s legislative chamber Protestors rallying to support efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in Taiwan had the support of two Buddhist nuns on Sunday, while a rival family values rally was mainly supported by… Read more »

Taiwan has first same-sex Christian religious weddings

A university chapel has hosted Taiwan’s first Christian religious marriage services this week – though the marriages will not be legally recognized by the state Three Taiwanese couples married in a Christian chapel on the grounds of Tunghai University in the city of Taichung on Tuesday in what are believed to be the first Christian… Read more »

Taiwan releases first picture book with gay families

A Ken’s Happy Home features nine men of different traits living under the same roof A social-minded government primary school teacher has teamed up with an illustrator to produce a picture book to promote equality education in gender and sexual orientation. The children’s book, whose title translates as ‘A Ken’s Happy Home’, is based on… Read more »

20,000 attend Taiwan gay marriage concert

20,000 people attended a free concert by Taiwanese pop star A-mei in Taipei on Sunday aimed at showing support for efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in the Asian nation 20,000 people attended a free concert in support of Taiwan becoming the first Asian nation to legalize same-sex marriage on Sunday. The concert was held by… Read more »

New ideas are required to control HIV spread

Taiwan has recently been hit by rabies, but due to a lack of funding, the government has not been able to purchase an adequate amount of vaccine. Cuts to HIV/AIDS medication funding have been suggested as one solution to the lack of money available for rabies vaccines because the proportion of funds for national disease… Read more »

Taiwan gay rights activist takes up legal same-sex marriage battle

Chief Day-way, another gay rights activist, takes up court battle to get same-sex marriage recognized after Nelson Chen dropped case two months ago A gay rights activist attempted to register his marriage in Taipei yesterday, but was told that only a man and woman can legally marry in Taiwan. Chief Day-way made the attempt two… Read more »

The Rainbow Shines In Taipei At Taiwan Pride

On Saturday, more than 50,000 queers and their allies flocked to Taipei for the annual Taiwan LGBT Pride, the largest celebration of its kind in Asia. Now in its tenth year, the capital city’s celebration kicked off with a rally and speakers outside the Presidential Office on Ketagalan Boulevard. Hong Kong pop star Gigi Leung… Read more »

The dark side of the blossoming Taiwan gay party scene

Around two-thirds of gay men with HIV in Taiwan are rejected by their families, says a charity worker Chung Han Lee started working for Harmony Home Association after supporting his HIV-positive partner ‘from unknown, to diagnosis, through all the procedures, problems, depression and physical changes’. Harmony Home has four shelters in Taipei for people with… Read more »

Thousands in Taiwan rally for gay marriage

Taipei – Tens of thousands of people marched through Taipei on Saturday to push for the legalisation of same-sex marriage in Taiwan as the island marked its 10th annual Gay Pride event in colourful fashion. “The theme this year is to fight for equal rights on marriage. Gay people are also tax-paying citizens and we… Read more »

10th annual Taiwan LGBT Pride calls for marriage equality and recognition of other relationship models

Over 30,000 LGBTs and their allies from around Taiwan and the world are expected to converge in Taiwan to attend Asia’s largest LGBT Pride march on Saturday, 27 Oct. Watch official videos here. First held in 2003 with about 500 participants, the event has since grown to over 30,000 last year where participants marched through… Read more »

Guidebook promotes safer sex for gay men

Anal sex, gay bathhouses and recreational drugs. Those are among the topics that readers of Gay Sex Guru: Safer Sex Guide For Gay Men will learn about as they flip through the pages of the new guide. Published by Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association, the manual is designed to promote sexual health and disease prevention in… Read more »

Taiwan broadcaster fined US$10,000 for lesbian kissing scene

A Taiwanese broadcaster LS Time has been fined NT$300,000 (US$10,255) for broadcasting a film that featured a scene that showed two women kissing, the China Times and Liberty Times reported. The 1992, locally produced film The Silent Thrush was broadcasted on 25 Feb 2012 at 7pm during a time-slot designated for films that have received… Read more »

Head of Taiwan’s Centre for Disease Control says marriage equality will help prevent spread of STDs

1,062 cases of HIV were reported in Taiwan so far in 2012 The deputy director-general of Taiwan’s Centres for Disease Control (CDC) is the first senior official in the country to publicly come out in support of marriage equality. As reported by Focus Taiwan, CDC’s Shih Wen-yi said on his personal Facebook page earlier this… Read more »

Marriage equality on the cards for Taiwan

Two women were married in a Buddhist ceremony in Taiwan last weekend, in the first known ceremony of its kind to be held in the country. While no Asian countries have actually fully legalised marriage equality, Taiwan – along with Vietnam and Nepal – is one of the few that have taken a forward-thinking stance… Read more »

Lesbian Buddhist Couple To Exchange Vows In Taiwan

A lesbian couple will tie the knot next month in what is being described as the first gay Buddhist wedding in Taiwan. Fish Huang and You Ya-ting, both 30, will exchange vows on August 11 at a Buddhist monastery in north Taiwan’s Taoyuan country. “We decided to get married last year,” Huang told the AFP.… Read more »

1 in 5 gay people in Taiwan have attempted suicide: Survey

Despite Taiwan’s reputation as one of Asia’s gay-friendliest territories, about 30 per cent of those surveyed have considered taking their own lives, and of these 18 per cent have actually attempted suicide while over half said they had been targets of verbal harassment, physical violence and sexual abuse. A survey of over 2,000 gay men… Read more »

Mothers of Taiwanese gay couple appear in court to show support

The mothers of Chen Jing-hsueh and Gao Jhih-wei – a gay couple who filed a legal petition to seek legal recognition of their marriage – appeared in court on Wednesday with their sons for the first time, and spoke to the media about accepting and supporting their sons’ sexuality and decision to be married. Last… Read more »

Gay Taiwanese couple make bid to be registered as same-sex household in landmark hearing

A Taiwanese gay couple who have been together for six years are to apply to the Taipei High Administrative Court in a bid to be registered as such under the country’s Department of Household Legislation. Chen Jing-hsueh and Gao Jhih-wei had their marriage formally recorded in a family pedigree last year – the first among… Read more »

Risk Factors for Taiwanese MSM Men Visiting Gay Saunas

Abstract: Since the global outbreak of HIV/AIDS, HIV has been transmitted among different vulnerable populations. According to a recent review, the global trend of HIV-1 infection among men having sex with men (MSM) has continued to increase, especially in East Asia, Africa, and Russia.  As of September 2011, there were 22,335 known cases of HIV… Read more »