The southern city of Kaohsiung will hold its second annual lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride parade on Saturday. Organisers told the media they hope to maintain the momentum of last year’s event which attracted about 2,000 participants. The slogan this year “走出冷漠，關心同志議題；走出房間，攜手上街遊行” roughly translates as “walk out of apathy, be concerned about LGBT issues; get out of your room, march on the streets with solidarity in the parade”. 

The Taipei Times reports that one of the group’s main aims this year is to push for a gender equality curriculum in elementary and junior-high schools. In April, a parents’ groups argued that a Ministry of Education plan to teach students about sexual orientation could confuse or misguide young children.

The 3km parade will start in Birthday Park at 1.30pm and will head to downtown areas, before returning to the park at about 4pm. A warm-up forum entitled “How to make Kaohsiung a gay-friendly city” is scheduled to take place on Friday evening.

 

 

On the same day, the northwestern coastal city of Hsinchu will celebrate LGBT pride with a Rainbow Festival, a street side event comprising several song and dance performances to be held from 2-9pm in front of the Hsinchu Train Station, and Gisneyland Party at Deluxe 72 – Disco Club, 5 Fl, No. 72, Sec. 2, Jingguo Rd, North District. Ticket price: 500 NT cover (includes 2 drinks).

The annual Taiwan Pride parade, which grew from 500 participants in 2003 to being the largest in Asia with over 30,000 visitors last year, will be held on Oct 30, 2011 in Taipei.