Taiwan blames political considerations for cancellation of World Pride

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Taiwan blames political considerations for cancellation of World Pride

Taiwan blamed political considerations for the cancellation of WorldPride 2025 Taiwan on Friday, after it said organizers had insisted the word Taiwan be removed.

Taiwan participates in global organizations like the Olympics as Chinese Taipei to avoid political problems with China, which views the democratically governed island as its own territory and bristles at anything that suggests it is a separate country.

Taiwan's southern city of Kaohsiung had been due to host WorldPride 2025 Taiwan after winning the right from the global LGBTQ rights group InterPride.

After an outcry in Taiwan last year, it dropped a reference to the island as a region, which suggests that it is not a country.

The organizers of Kaohsiung said InterPride had recently suddenly asked them to change the name of the event to Kaohsiung, removing the word Taiwan. After careful evaluation, it is believed that if the event continues, it may harm the interests of the Taiwan and the Taiwan gay community. The organizers of Kaohsiung said that it was decided to terminate the project before signing the contract.

Taiwan's Foreign Ministry said the event would have been the first WorldPride event to be held in East Asia.

Taiwan regrets that InterPride has broken a relationship of cooperation and trust because of political considerations and has unilaterally rejected the mutually agreed upon consensus, leading to this outcome, it said.

Not only does the decision disrespect Taiwan's rights and diligent efforts, it also harms Asia's vast LGBTIQ community and runs counter to the progressive principles espoused by InterPride. In 2019 Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage, a first for Asia, and is proud of its reputation as a bastion of LGBTQ rights and liberalism.

While same-sex relationships are not illegal in China, same-sex marriage is not illegal, and the government has been cracking down on depictions of LGBTQ people in the media and in the community s use of social media.