Pride parade draws 30,000 in Taipei
With music, self-made signs and creative costumes, an estimated 30,000 people from across Taiwan and several other countries marched through the streets of Taipei Oct. 29 during the annual Taiwan LGBT Pride parade. Now in its ninth year, the parade calls for an end to discrimination against sexual minorities.
Tens of thousands of people poured onto Ketagalan Boulevard, the departure and ending point of the parade, hours before 2 p.m., when the parade was scheduled to depart.
Participants carried balloons and self-made placards with slogans supporting gay rights and opposing discrimination, and many also dressed in special costumes to show their support for diversity.
Although the atmosphere was festive, the objective of the parade was serious.
“We are standing here together — whether you belong to the LGBT community or not — to fight back against discrimination against the LGBT community in this country,” organizer A-Cheng told the crowd. “Discrimination against LGBT people may seem to have decreased, but in fact it’s still there. It just changed its form and was ‘upgraded.’”
He said that 10 years ago, LGBT communities were confronted directly by people who called them all sorts of names, but “nowadays, people would tell you: ‘I don’t have any problems with gays, but … ’ What comes after the ‘but’ could be: ‘I don’t think gays should be able to legally get married,’ ‘Students should not be taught about homosexuality at school,’ or something else that’s still discriminatory in nature.”
J.J. Lai, co-founder of the first Taiwan LGBT Parade in 2003, said the situation may have improved a little, but discrimination from the general public and politicians still exists.
“Nine years ago, we departed from the 228 Peace Park with only a few hundred people. Today, we’re on Ketagalan Boulevard with more than 30,000 people,” Lai said.
“Nine years ago, there was only one Taiwan LGBT Pride Parade in Taipei, but this year parades are taking place in Taipei, Taichung, Kaohsiung and Hualien,” he added. “We can’t deny there have been changes. However, we should not overlook the threats posed by homophobic people and organizations.”
Part of the parade marched through neighborhoods around National Taiwan Normal University, where many conservative families live, hoping that the residents would acquire a better understanding of LGBT communities through more contact, organizers said.
Irish presidential candidate concedes
David Norris had led polls early in the race to become Ireland’s president, before he dropped out and then jumped back in amid a scandal. But the senator, who could have become the world’s first openly gay president, conceded defeat last week.
Early poll results show him finishing a distant fourth, and so Norris became the first candidate to congratulate Labor Party candidate Michael Higgins on his apparent win.
A spokesperson for the Norris campaign criticized the media in reaction to the loss in an interview with the Irish Times. Paul Allen said Norris had endured “severe pressure” but “he never crumbled.”
Norris was accused of favoring pedophilia based on an old newspaper interview that misquoted him, and then he quit the race when it was discovered he’d written a letter to authorities in Israel pleading for clemency for his then-partner Ezra Nawi in a statutory-rape case. The letter was written on official stationery in 1997 but had not surfaced until the presidential campaign.
Norris later re-entered the race when polls indicated he could still win if he jumped back in. That hope didn’t materialize after voters went to the polls on Oct. 27.
A message posted on the candidate’s Facebook page from his campaign claimed Norris was an example to others of what’s possible politically.
“For anyone who ever feels that something is ever too difficult, they can look at David Norris as their inspiration, stand on the shoulders of this giant and reach for their dreams,” wrote Norris staffers.
Russian gay-rights advocate retires
Nikolai Alekseev, the face of the gay-rights movement in Russia, has retired.
In an email sent to supporters last week, the 34-year-old said he would no longer head Moscow Pride and GayRussia.ru but gave little reason for his decision.
Alekseev said, “It is true that I am fed up, and that is why I decided to step down. I also decided not to give any further comments on my decision.”
Nikolay Baev, who will take over GayRussia.ru, said: “The reason [for Alekseev’s resignation] is totally personal. He just decided to change his activity and lifestyle, and he has a full right to this.”
Alekseev, a former journalist, turned his attention to full-time gay-rights advocacy in 2005, setting up GayRussia.ru and making plans for a Pride march in Moscow.
He has appeared regularly on Russian television and has been honored for his work by LGBT organizations worldwide.
He has been arrested on numerous occasions for holding illegal Pride marches and gay-rights demonstrations and launched lawsuits against Moscow authorities for banning the events.
Last September, the campaigner was arrested at Domodedovo Airport in Moscow while boarding a plane to Geneva.
He says he was kidnapped and possibly drugged by Russian security forces who detained him for more than two days and used his phone to send fake messages claiming he was dropping his legal challenges.
Welsh rugby captain comes out
The captain of the Welsh rugby team, the Old Redcliffians, came out as gay after a potential suitor he met said he couldn’t date someone who was closeted.
Jed Hooper, 22, told the Evening Post that the encounter was the catalyst for his big announcement.
“Before that, I think I had already told about 10 friends and their reaction was very positive so that gave me an inkling of what might happen,” he said. “And I also thought if the crap really hits the fan, then at least there are 10 people on my side!”
Hooper texted his contacts and also made the announcement on his Facebook page. After, he said, “I then cried my eyes out as I was thinking to myself, What have you done? but very quickly I must have had 40 replies and all of them were positive.”
Hooper, who plays the position of back row forward, then consulted the team’s chairman, Ray Massey.
“I said that if the club doesn’t want a gay man as its figurehead I would understand and step down,” Hooper said. “But he was brilliant and said, ‘You’re our captain and this doesn’t change anything.’ That support was massive to me.”
The news comes after another star of Welsh rugby, Gareth Thomas, announced his retirement this week. Thomas, 37, said he could no longer commit all of his time to the sport, but a film is still in the works, shepherded by American actor Mickey Rourke.
Antigay Ugandan group opposes antigay bill
The National Coalition Against Homosexuality and Sexual Abuse in Uganda has surprisingly come out against the 2009 “Kill Gays” bill after politicians recently resurrected the proposed legislation.
The “Kill Gays” bill, which includes strict penalties against homosexuals, including the death penalty for some, “is unrealistic and also diversionary,” NCAHSA leader Solomon Male said.
The legislation would require people to report incidences of homosexuality, which Male believes will be impossible to enforce. The pastor also added that Uganda already criminalizes homosexuality and that the African nation hasn’t executed anyone since 1999, so a new death penalty charge would be meaningless.
Danish gay-rights pioneer Axel Axgil dies
Axel Axgil, who helped push Denmark to become the first country to introduce same-sex unions, has died. He was 96.
Axgil and his partner, Eigil Axgil, were the first Danes to enter into a civil union in 1989 and, in so doing, became the first gay couple to enter into a registered union anywhere in the world.
Born Axel Lundahl-Madsen and Eigil Eskildsen, the couple fought for legislation for gay civil unions and was the first of 11 couples to tie the knot on Oct. 1, 1989.
They formed the surname Axgil from their given names.
The couple co-founded Forbundet af 1948 (The Association of 1948) following the UN Declaration of Human Rights.
It became a pan-Scandinavian gay-rights movement and, as each country developed its campaigning, returned to Denmark, eventually becoming LGBT Danmark, one of the oldest surviving gay-rights organizations in the world.
Eigil Axgil died in 1995. He was 73.
LGBT Danmark spokesperson Vivi Jelstrup said in a statement: “You have to be impressed by the colossal enthusiasm Axel Axgil has shown throughout his entire life for helping other homosexuals. Regardless of how hard they were hit themselves, he and Eigil tirelessly worked on.”
Axgil, she said, had lived “a long life focused on creating something for other homosexuals, regardless of the price.”
Axgil died Oct. 28. LGBT Danmark will hold a memorial ceremony for Axgil on Nov. 5 in the central Danish city of Aarhus.
— compiled by Larry Nichols
