London, July 8 (CNA) A Taiwanese group advocating for same-sex marriage took part in the 2017 Pride in London gay and lesbian parade on Saturday, holding banners with the slogan "First Country in Asia" to publicize the fact that Taiwan will soon become the first Asian country to grant same-sex couples the legal right to marry.
The first official London Pride was held in 1972, with 2,000 people in attendance. It is now the biggest LGBT parade in the U.K. and attracts thousands of participants every year.
The parade runs through the bustling area of Soho, one of central London's most exciting and unique areas and Trafalgar Square.
This year, the parade attracted 26,000 participants and numerous onlookers, with rainbow flags hanging on shops and outside government buildings along the route, which was marked in rainbow colors by Google Map.
A 100-strong Taiwanese group organized by Taiwanese students in London also took part in the parade to promote Taiwan's status as Asia's first country to legalize same-sex marriage.
Taiwan's Constitutional Court in May ruled that the island's laws must be changed to allow same-sex marriage, paving the way for Taiwan to become the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex unions and cementing its status as a beacon for LGBT rights.
A member of the Taiwanese group said that since no significant progress was made in legalizing same-sex union when last year's parade was held, the group called on the government to pass a law to allow same-sex marriage.
However, the situation changed dramatically this year and so the group focussed on celebrating Taiwan's achievement. They also produced a video supporting marriage equality for LGBT people, according to the organizers.
Taiwanese horoscope writer Jesse Tang and Chi Ta-wei, a scholar and science fiction writer from National Chengchi University, also attended the parade.
British man Kai and his Taiwanese partner A-wei said that after the law comes into effect, they will return to Taiwan to register their marriage.
The parade also attracted a wide variety of groups, companies and organizations in the U.K., including Facebook, the The Walt Disney Company, the U.K. Parliament, London police forces, post office and fire departments as well as Muslim LGBT groups.
