The cancellation of WorldPride 2025 Taiwan has been blamed on “political considerations” after organisers insisted that the island’s name be removed from the title.
The southern city of Kaohsiung was due to host the event after winning the rights to do so from InterPride.
However, after outcry in Taiwan last year, it swapped the word “region” for phrasing that suggests it is not a country.
Organisers from Kaohsiung stated that InterPride has since asked them to change the event’s name to “Kaohsiung”, removing the word “Taiwan” entirely.
“After careful evaluation, it is believed that if the event continues it may harm the interests of Taiwan and the Taiwan gay community,” the Kaohsiung organisers said in a statement. “Therefore it is decided to terminate the project before signing the contract.”
It would have been the first WorldPride event to be held in Asia.
InterPride shared that it was “surprised to learn” of the event’s cancellation, but that it respected the decision.
It continued: “We were confident a compromise could have been reached with respect to the long-standing WorldPride tradition of using the host city name. We suggested using the name ‘WorldPride Kaohsiung, Taiwan’.”
This cancellation comes amid ongoing political tension with China, which views the island as its own territory – resulting in Taiwan participating in global competitions, like the Olympics, as “Chinese Taipei” to appease officials.
“Taiwan deeply regrets that InterPride, due to political considerations, has unilaterally rejected the mutually agreed upon consensus and broken a relationship of cooperation and trust, leading to this outcome,” Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry said.
“Not only does the decision disrespect Taiwan’s rights and diligent efforts, it also harms Asia’s vast LGBTIQ+ community and runs counter to the progressive principles espoused by InterPride.”
Latest
