In Taiwan, homosexuality was banned until 1987. Today, the island has the most progressive legislation in Asia, permits gay marriage and is an oasis for persecuted gays in China and other countries. The Taiwanese government even has a transgender minister
At the entrance there is a poster of a gay Buddha next to another with a gay Jesus Christ. Inside, shelves full of BD manga books and magazines with naked men on the covers. There are also closets full of sex toys for guests to enjoy. The report by the Spanish newspaper El Mundo shows us the first LGBT store opened in Asia, the GinGin bookstore, opened 21 years ago in Taipei, the island’s capital that claims the independence of its territory against China.
“Here people come to talk, learn and get to know. As there are countries in Asia where you are stoned alive for being gay, it is a privilege to have a place as free as this, ”explains Lai Jeng-jer, the owner of the bookstore, a space that is an important symbol of sexual freedom in Taiwan.
The report proposes the following test of eastern geography. Question 1: What is the political capital of Asia? Beijing. Question 2: What is the financial capital of Asia? The podium is shared by Hong Kong and Singapore. Question 3: What is the gay capital of Asia? Without a doubt, Taipei, located in the only nation on the Asian continent where same-sex marriage is legal. Taiwan is a rare bird of freedom, located 130 kilometers off the southern coast of China. The political and social center of a small island with a young democracy whose sovereignty only 15 countries recognize.
When the coronavirus appeared in January in Wuhan, China, many understood that Taiwan would be unable to contain the outbreak if it crossed its borders. But in eight months of the pandemic, the island recorded only 488 infections and seven deaths. Taipei was one of the few places in the world where, at the end of June, the Taipei Gay Pride Festival was celebrated on the streets: about 300 people raised the flags of freedom for the LGBT community and a flag with a giant rainbow headed the parade through Liberty Square, a large square in the center of the capital.