The Philippines in 1996-1997, China in 2000, Vietnam in 2009, Japan in 2013 and 2025, South Korea in 2014 and 2024, Taipei and Taiwan in 2017 (the starting point of Trip By Trip), Singapore in 2018, Hong Kong and Macau in 2023, Bangkok in Thailand and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia in early 2026. I like travelling to East Asia. I’m in the middle of a Republic of China (ROC) trip. Current affairs made me think I shouldn’t wait too much to revisit Formosa.
I did not attend Taipei LGBT+ Pride, but Oriol did. So, it’s his photo.
An estimated 150,000 to more than 170,000 people took part in Taipei’s annual LGBT+ Pride parade on Saturday, 31 October, making it one of East Asia’s largest LGBTQ+ gatherings. The 24th edition celebrated visibility and freedom but also became a platform for anger over a controversial police raid on a gay bar earlier this month.
Held under the theme ‘Our Voices, Our Journey’, the parade brought together participants from Taiwan and abroad. More than 180 groups registered for the event, organised by the Taiwan Rainbow Civil Action Association. Marchers set off from Taipei City Hall Plaza at 14:05, following two routes through the city before returning to the starting point. A rainbow market with almost 100 stalls, including numerous Taiwanese and Asian NGOs, accompanied the celebrations.
However, the police raid on Commander D., a gay cruising bar in Taipei’s Wanhua District, on 3 October 2026 cast a shadow over the festivities. Officers questioned 51 people and arrested the bar’s owner, with some of those questioned reportedly held for more than six hours. Police cited legislation prohibiting public nudity and lascivious behaviour. The operation prompted allegations of excessive force and discrimination, while four officers were found to have made inappropriate remarks.
Tai Yu-hsun (戴佑勳), chairperson of the organising association, said the incident had revived memories of state oppression of LGBTQIA+ spaces. Although the Taipei city government had apologised and disciplined personnel, he called for a transparent investigation and binding guidelines governing police conduct. The City announced on Thursday that prosecutors were investigating and that new guidelines would be developed with input from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Mayor confronted by protesters
The controversy became a political issue ahead of local elections on 28 November. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an, who is seeking re-election for the opposition Kuomintang, received an angry reception when he briefly appeared at the parade.
Protesters shouted ‘Don’t raid gay bars’, while others voiced support for his main challenger, Puma Shen of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). Chiang reiterated his apology and promised a rigorous investigation and disciplinary measures.
Shen, who appeared elsewhere at the event, received a warmer reception. Vice-President Hsiao Bi-khim led the DPP delegation, while President Lai Ching-te expressed his support in a Facebook post, saying nobody should have to live in fear because of who they are. He added that respect for LGBTQ+ people must also be reflected in the exercise of public authority.
Organisers had revised this year’s theme following the raid, which they said had reawakened historical trauma among sexually and gender-diverse communities subjected to state oppression.
Marriage equality is not the end of the struggle
Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage in 2019. However, Tai stressed that marriage rights had not automatically translated into social acceptance or equal treatment. He called for greater understanding of gender and sexual diversity, as well as stronger efforts to combat HIV/AIDS stigma, which can discourage people from getting tested. He also urged Taiwan’s long-term care system to prepare for the needs of an ageing population of people living with HIV.
Transgender rights take centre stage
The main parade was preceded on Friday, 30 October, by the eighth Taiwan Trans March, which attracted an estimated 3,800 participants. Organised by the Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ+) Hotline Association, the march followed a route from 228 Peace Park through part of the Ximending shopping district and back.
Under the theme ‘Crossing Boundaries, Standing Together’, demonstrators called for an end to stigma and discrimination against transgender people. Banners included ‘Trans Rights Are Human Rights’ and ‘The Patriarchy Is The Enemy, Not Trans Women’. Participants also urged the government to abolish the requirement for gender-affirming surgery to change gender markers on official identification documents.
Among the marchers was Taiwanese concert pianist Huang Yi-chung, who publicly came out as transgender in September. International participants also joined the demonstration, with some describing the opportunity to gather with so many transgender people as an important experience of visibility and solidarity.
The two days of demonstrations and celebrations highlighted Taiwan’s prominent position in Asia’s LGBTQIA+ rights movement, while the controversy surrounding Commander D. served as a reminder that marriage equality and legal protections do not, by themselves, eliminate discrimination or institutional prejudice.
More on Taiwan
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Taiwan 2017
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LGBTQIA+ and travel
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- RAINBOW EUROPE MAP AND INDEX 2026 | Spain best of class and breaks Malta’s decade-long hold on Europe’s LGBTQIA+ rights top spot.
- RAINBOW EUROPE MAP AND INDEX 2025 | United Kingdom, Hungary and Georgia drop dramatically on LGBTQIA+ rights ranking.
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- Belarus adopts sweeping anti-LGBTQIA+ information law, joining global crackdown on queer rights, criminalises “promotion” of homosexuality, gender transition, and childlessness.
- EU Court rules Hungary has to strike down its anti-gay propaganda law.
- ILGA-Europe: Criminalisation of LGBTI people returns to Europe’s doorstep.
- Alarming escalation in repression of LGBTI+ activists in Turkey: court rulings and prosecutions raise serious concerns.
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- Malaysia, which outlaws gay sex, blocks access to Grindr and Blued.
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- The best cities to visit as a gay solo traveller.
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- Spartacus Travel Awards pinpoint Brussels and Taiwan as top LGBTQIA+ destinations.
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- Manchester’s gaybourhood around Canal Street.
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- Sang Young Park, an insight on queer life in South Korea.
- Pride in Valladolid, Yucatán and queer encounters in Mexico.
- FLORIDA SOLO ROAD TRIP | Eye-opening encounters in Miami.
- FLORIDA SOLO ROAD TRIP | Key West.
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- FLORIDA SOLO ROAD TRIP | National Pulse Memorial and Museum in Orlando.
- Queer in a hostile world: more likely to be arrested for looking gay than for actual homosexual acts.
- Travel guide for people with HIV.
- LGBTQ+ get-together on Majestic Princess.
- HOW TO | Travel to the Eurovision Song Contest.
- Gays failing at being gay? ‘LGBTQ Mix & Mingle’ on Royal Caribbean’s Serenade of the Seas lacked enthusiasm.
- Gay Tel Aviv: pinkwashing or genuine?.
- To be or not to be out and proud LGBTQ when travelling?.
- A plea for LGBTQ travel in post-communist Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia.
- Gay Taipei with misterb&b.
- VIDEO | Looking for intimacy in a crowd of strangers in Japan and South Korea.
- Are you travelling to a hostile destination?.
