The month of June is celebrated as 'Pride Month' by the LGBTQI+ community and supporters to commemorate the first Gay Pride march that was held in New York in 1970, to mark the first anniversary of the city's Stonewall riots, a landmark event in the gay rights struggle.
But this time things are different at the global front. Celebrations have come to an halt due to the deadly coronavirus pandemic which has claimed over 5,00,000 lives.
Howevever, Taiwain is trying to keep the spirit alive.
The Taiwanese capital held its annual LGBT Pride parade on June 28, making it one of the few places in the world to proceed with such an event due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The parade in Taipei has drawn tens of thousands of people in the past, but participant numbers Sunday were reduced by both virus concerns and heavy rain. Taiwan's Central News Agency said that over 1,000 attended.
American student Loren Couse, 28, said Taipei's ability to hold the parade was “really impressive."
“I think Taiwan has done a really good job so far, and I am really proud of living here, not only because it’s so open to people like myself, the gay community, but also because I think it’s such an example for the world and how to handle the pandemic so far," Couse said.
Along with Australia, Taiwan is one of the few countries in the Asia-Pacific region where same-sex marriage is legal, and its liberal political system has long promoted human rights, free speech and freedom of assembly.
New York was among the cities compelled to cancel its gay Pride parade this year to comply with social distancing measures.
However, parts of US continue to organise Black Lives Matter Protests in which hints for the LGBT community were also seen.
Taiwan has largely dropped such restrictions after quarantines and case tracing helped bring the coronavirus infection rate down radically.
In all, the island of 23.7 million people has confirmed 447 cases, including seven deaths.
(With inputs from AP, AFP)