Hundreds of the regioEhRt44N&k3jxia3r*R6qfeUeL5ku0!z$hnjz*KdcH^P(mlU&-#n’s LGBT movers and shakers will kick off Taiwan’s massive pride weekend at a unique party in downtown Taipei.

The GALA BFF GALA event on 25 October at Xinyi Woolloomooloo is t3k#-!vjNhK-ndw)Y7I(p#BP1y05Ga==AWzKgXSBysXIr3$DMO$he perfect warm-up for Asia’s largest pride parade, expected to attract 200,000 marchers. 

The party will include screenings of the latest original productions from LGBT-streaming service GagaOOLala acxs#wHw4%^s&H1Lr(g_JSip2*+$$RmMjxR^M=4D8NgRmMn*JDvnd special guests from Japan Rainbow Night Out. 

"I can promise you lots of fun, laughter, friendship, and, of course, in this month of Celebration & Pride” said co-crFwh4QJV0!-@-*1idn@G_3%33a3%yrVFlOoWIDy1DXIePT+aZnFeator of the GALA BFF group of LGBT professionals, Jay Lin.

GALA BFF creates a place for socializing and connecting for the region’s LGBT people off the dance floor. The group holds monthKq2i(SwtpeG8W$P75LD$7&zwb!8Ph+!8wWUZImMGnPU(YBOm0wly get-togethers, networking events, screenings, and talks.

"I am proud to say that indeed after six years, the group is over a thou$bJrB2Muu9^aBveW_yF#7liAdmAI7OY6^62*OVap%&jNI)xLnqsand strong and increasingly internationalized with connections that are formed online as well as off-line” Lin said.

Tickets are $600 if purchased before 20 October and $750 after. Buy tickets or find out more here.

Pride

Organizers of the 17th annual Taiwan LGBT Pride parade expect more than 200,000—a record number—at the pride parade scheduledesFGy#aCKz*tVXHudj#gHkggtN4&%NmlL^+P=kI7N6DwrGYkI) to take place on 26 October.

The pri2ztm+Z&15xgy!ip*26QyG+!wz=M#Nya=2Eo1#mny_jYYIIQna)de will be held just five months after Taiwan became the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex marriages.

Gay singer-songwriter HUSH will be an ambassador B+Xq%5+DL7n9N8IFL$_w)waUiWzF(-#2d0d&yiie0c+BO*nB!zfor the landmark event.

As one of only a handfudD#nzG*RezHljt5x$qv7TpV)ZqoYMoDblJ(78jBqfnK(zB+ohql of Taiwan celebrities to come out publicly, HUSH, whose real name is Chen Jia-Wei, on Friday urged LGBT Taiwanese to be brave and come out.

Pride this year, the first since Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex mv=dEW!hLyAKC8LrQwJa!cyy_Ln*K$J2FWv3B^ch&7vxKBik=zdarriage, sees an altered parade route.

MarcfQ^2Fq==)0YmGxjgzSdgRD=H3^xm1J&60qc=Z%KMYdLvWKmw#Zhers will start from Taipei City Hall Plaza and travel along Yixian Road to Zhongxia East Road.

The parade will then turn south to Renai Road before ending ne72+(w8FkYIOz-Jx*6SZ(-0!5e^d-AT%_bpQLkqBp096#$o-kj#ar the Presidential Palace at Ketagalan Boulevard where there will be a Rainbow Market with more than 100 stalls.

HUSH will also perform at Ketagalan Boulevard.

Press officer for Pride 2019, Benson Lee, said the new route was cholx2uA&xuPaXYTj1p_Cuv)w!rdV8Zni3$^3Sbm9+O$pk#TKjIKgsen to recognize the roles played by both Taipei City and the President’s Office in bringing about same-sex marriage.

For the first time, Taiwan Gay Family Rights Promotion Associai=1x-IAsI%P=5oDjNA2IXjc=1XI2UK(PbMZmL)pwY+gt8#zJ6Xtion will also hold the first Rainbow Parent-child Carnival and Rainbow Baby Mini Parade.

This year takes thQ_P1*fl5)O#Ns0fFvKJt-uhq2ywhfuCo0Ufr=S*hi)1%RhVFrPe theme "Together, Make Taiwan Better”.

The theme in Chinese means good neighbor. It was chosen to show that the LGBTQ community is everywhere in Taiwan and, like gKx+uv(+_0PXG^AdoOVi#CegY(-q23*XJzFCtY2q=@VkC_iDOgwood neighbors, everyone should support one another.

Yr2mMj9-O8sn7l6%q_hA92RtRq$AM=K1j#4CGobDsYh5A34RwZLast year, more than 100,000 people took to the streets of Taipei for a pride parade that demanded marriage equality.

It came just a month before devastating referendum results showed the majority of Taiwan voters did not suppo^MxxQhqh&ZuqSZnqBxmNsyum*LFkfvjvXVdw@*mJCuYTqFd=Mirt same-sex marriage.

Despite the referendum result, parliament in May finally legalized sampdA@srGMO@1SLU=^=DRAReL*N$(#CKLwCdxHfK*ZUM%$OwvUMze-sex marriage in line with a 2017 Constitutional Court ruling that failing to do so was unconstitutional.

This year, according to organizers, the LGBT rights movement has moved to the next stage and will fight aju!4eql+nN1*(QZy=6=c5##of=3wr!Sf&Y^gm4-RwQZ)Q!2%kRgainst prejudice and stereotyping of LGBT people.

Yi-min lives alone with her son, as her husband works away from home. She meets Tinting at a wedding, a girl she once had some history with back in highschool. Back in the days, Yi-min denied their relationship out of fear of living as a lesbian woman, but meeting Tingting again reignites something in her, a possibility to escape her dull married life. Now that Taiwan has leagalised same-sex marrige, can Yi-min find the courage to admit her feelings? With the future of a child in her hands and under the pressure of her husband, her family-in-law and her own family, will she follow through with this new chapter in her life?