Taipei, Oct. 27 (CNA) Thousands of people gathered in Taipei on Saturday for Taiwan's annual gay pride parade -- Asia's biggest -- to demand equal rights to marriage for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people as well as diversity-oriented, inclusive gender equality education, two issues to be voted on for the first time in an upcoming referendum election.
Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office where the huge crowd congregated around noon was awash in a sea of rainbow ribbons and flags and participants dressed in flamboyant costumes ready for the march that will begin at 2:30 p.m. after a program of speeches and performances.
Participants are divided into nine groups which will traverse three routes simultaneously in downtown Taipei before they converge on Ketagalan Boulevard in the evening, as the event, now in its 16th year, has grown to be the largest in Asia.
Taiwan LGBT activists press for right to marry
Over 130,000 people marched on the streets of Taipei for the annual gay pride parade, urging voters to support LGBT rights in polls in November, organizers said on Saturday.
This year's parade is themed "Tell Your Story, Vote for Equality" as the self-ruling island debates several referendums on marriage equality and same-sex education in schools due to be held alongside local elections on November 24.
Participants carried banners reading "vote for a happy future" and "love is equal."
"I support the referendums because marriage equality is a basic human right that nobody should be deprived of and gender equality education at school is crucial to prevent discrimination and bullying," said 39-year-old housewife Chen Yu-fang, who brought her two children to the rally.