TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A press conference hosted by the Taiwan Rainbow Civil Action Association (TWRCAA) on Tuesday (Oct. 8) announced the theme of “Embrace Inclusion” for the 22nd Taiwan Pride parade.
Fletcher Hong (洪浩哲), chairperson of TWRCAA, said the event will inspire the public to move beyond “stand with diversity” (last year’s theme), and move toward greater acceptance of differences through the act of “embracing inclusion.” Hong said such actions will allow concrete actions to be taken, ensuring the voices of different communities and individuals are valued and included in decision-making.
As a testament to inclusivity, 18 different co-organizers are associated with this year’s Taiwan Pride parade, representing the full spectrum or rainbow of the nation's LGBT+ community. The Taiwan Pride parade is the featured event in the LGBT+ community, and this year is scheduled to set off at 2 p.m. on Oct. 26 in front of Taipei City Hall Plaza.
Similar to past years, the parade will split into two different routes, a northern route, and a southern route, before circling back to Taipei City Hall. The parade will feature 35 parade floats and hundreds of thousands of participants marching to promote greater inclusion for people of all races, religions, and sexual orientations.
Drag queen Chiang Weiii (薔薇) said this year will be different from past years as top drag queens will unite on one parade float, which will lead the purple (southern) route. Weiii looks forward to sharing the float with other drag queens, noting “beauty is our responsibility," in a pre-event press release.
Organizers have scheduled other activities such as a “Rainbow Market” that will have more than 100 vendors along with 30 charity stalls featuring domestic and foreign NGOs, such as Gay Harmony from Hong Kong, Seoul Queer Culture Festival, and Colorful Change Lab from Kyushu, Japan.
TWRCAA will also organize a stamp-collecting activity to encourage citizens to learn more about the LGBT+ community. Collecting all of the stamps qualifies one for a free gift. This year’s pride parade also offers commemorative goods such as T-shirts, badges, and other items to allow participants to show their pride throughout the year.
Taiwan Pride is also cooperating with RhinoShield for the first time, offering limited-time co-branded mobile phone cases. One is designed with this year's main visual image and the other utilizes a more traditional rainbow design.
TWRCAA also enlisted several speakers to address issues about the LGBT+ community. For example, the subject of HIV is being addressed through discussions about “living with HIV,” and also "U=U,” which stands for “undetectable virus load” is “un-transmittable,” asking the public to be more open-minded about people living with HIV.
