Taiwan’s southern city of Kaohsiung was set to host WorldPride 2025 Taiwan after winning the right from global LGBTQ rights group InterPride. Last year, after an outcry in Taiwan, it dropped the reference to the island as a “region”. But Kaohsiung organizers said InterPride 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 Taiwan and Taiwan’s gay community. Therefore, it is decided to end the project before the contract is signed,” Kaohsiung organizers said. InterPride said in a statement that it was “surprised to hear” the news and while disappointed, respected the decision. “We were confident that a compromise could be reached in relation to WorldPride’s long-standing tradition of using the name of the host city. We proposed using the name ‘WorldPride Kaohsiung, Taiwan,’” he added. Taiwan’s foreign ministry said the event would be the first WorldPride event to be held in East Asia. “Taiwan deeply regrets that InterPride, due to political expediency, unilaterally rejected the mutually agreed upon consensus and broke a relationship of cooperation and trust, leading to this result,” it said. “The decision not only disrespects Taiwan’s rights and diligent efforts, it also harms Asia’s vast LGBTIQ+ community and goes against the progressive principles that InterPride stands for.” Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage in 2019, a first in Asia, and prides itself on its reputation as a bastion of LGBTQ rights and liberalism. Although same-sex relationships are not illegal in China, same-sex marriage is illegal, and the government is cracking down on media portrayals of LGBTQ people and the community’s use of social media.
