A Brighter Summer Day

A Brighter Summer Day

Chen and Dean chilling with their dogs on their day off, Taichung, Taiwan, 2019 ‘Once my parents asked me why I either seldom went home when I was off, or I only took man home. I told them, ‘This is it, he’s my partner. If you accept it, you will have one more son; if you don’t, you will lose two.’ In my opinion, homosexuality is normal, but they were probably worried about how society perceived us, or that it might affect my career. I told them that I was out since junior high school, and I was also out in the military. The officers even asked me to consult other gay people, they thought I knew better than them; they asked me to bridge.’ Chen Chen (left) and Dean met each other on Facebook through friends of friends. They opened a tea shop that they built and run together in Taichung. They also own a mobile phone shop in the same building, and have their bedroom on the top floor. They got married on the 18th May, the day after same sex marriage got legalized in Taiwan. It got a lot of attention from the med

  • Product Code
  • ILEA002291512
  • Registered date
  • 2019/6/09 00:00:00
  • Credit
  • Abaca Press / Kyodo News Images
  • Media source
  • Middle East Images/ABACA
  • Media size
  • 5000 × 3338 pixel
  • Resolution
  • 300 dpi
  • Deployment size
  • 2.92(MB)*
  • Special instruction

*File size when opened in Photoshop, etc.

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    A Brighter Summer Day

    A Brighter Summer Day

    Chi Chia Wei, Taiwan’s most famous LGBTQIA+ activist, Taipei, Taiwan, 2019 Chi Chia Wei is the first man in Taiwan who publicly came out as gay thirty years ago on national television, during a press conference announcing both his sexuality and his campaign for the prevention of HIV/AIDS. He started to fight for marriage equality when he was 28. ‘I am Chi Chia Wei, born in Taipei. From my family to school, and after leaving campus, I’ve never been treated badly due to my sexual orientation. This special background allows me to learn many things, and fight for the LGBTQ rights in Taiwan. I think it must be fate. In my teenager period, my family tried to teach us how to break the traditional rules. I came out when I was 17 years old, no one in the school was against me. I became an activist in 1986. The society in 80s in Taipei was not worse than other countries, but also not really friendly; it was basically the same everywhere in the world. However, I was the first person to discuss same sex marriage here, an
      A Brighter Summer Day

      A Brighter Summer Day

      Shih Han on the roof top of the building where his family lives, New Taipei City, Taiwan, 2019 ‘I feel very proud that Taiwan just became the first Asian country to legalize same sex marriage, and I really believe it’s just the first step. Now we have to let more and more people know that we have the same rights as heterosexual people. Education is the priority.  I get discriminated by gay men because of this expectation that we should be muscular with short hair, as to compensate for something. I’m sick of this. Some patriarcal gay men asked me why I had long hair, thinking I was giving gay men a bad name by looking different. They think it’s adding an extra layer of misunderstanding for the society. They believe I’m not a good gay man. But why should I follow the rules? I just want to be myself.’ Shih Han Shih Han is a performing artist. He lives with his family in New Taipei City. Photo by Su Cassiano/Middle East Images/ABACAPRESS.COM
        A Brighter Summer Day

        A Brighter Summer Day

        Maggie and Ching Yun in their bedroom, New Taipei City, Taiwan, 2019 ‘Those days when you were crying are not the doomsday. You have to believe you can live the way you like, can be in a healthy relationship. Thank you very much for your courage.’ Maggie Maggie (right) and Ching Yun have been together for two years, and moved together almost right after they met. Maggie works in the movie industry and is from Taichung. She had a girlfriend there and her family was shocked about it. Everybody got hurt. So Maggie left for Taipei, the big city, to be able to be herself. There’s a big gap between the Taipei bubble and other cities in Taiwan. She’s still in contact with her family but they never talked about her sexual orientation again. Even if Ching Yun looks boyish, her family still expects her to marry a man. They think her and Maggie are flatmates. Her mother doesn’t know but during the referendum about same sex marriage Chin Yun tried to persuade her to vote yes. She’s been waiting for the right timing to co
          A Brighter Summer Day

          A Brighter Summer Day

          Crown and Carole at home, New Taipei City, Taiwan, 2019 ‘Even my mum told me that it’s not that she doesn’t support me having a family, it’s more that she thinks if we have this whole gay marriage legalization there are going to be more gay people in the society. That’s not true. It’s that now gay people are more visible, now you are hearing from them. Before they were hiding their identity within the society. This is a weird time. I didn’t think I would be able to get married or to have kids here in Taiwan. But now that this little window is open and you see the possibility that this might be able to be changed and have hope and people try to stop it, you get really angry. We had a vote before and there was 7 million votes against the legalization of same sex marriage so it doesn’t look good. Older people are being told that if we let ‘homos’ get married it’s going to ruin heterosexual’s rights to get married and that people are going to marry their dogs and their kids will become gays.’ Carole Crown works i