KAOHSIUNG (Taiwan News) — The relationship between the bid team for the now-aborted WorldPride Taiwan 2025 event, which was to be held in Kaohsiung, and the event licensor, InterPride, has always felt somewhat frosty.

Back on Nov. 14, celebrations for Kaohsiung being awarded the prestigious event were somewhat overshadowed by the official announcement from InterPride that the 2025 event would be held in the “region of Taiwan."

After the predictable and completely understandable outcry that ensued, InterPride updated its listing to simply say "Taiwan." But there was always a sense that this change was made somewhat reluctantly, and the relationship felt tarnished from that moment on.

So, perhaps it was not a massive shock when it was announced last week that talks had broken down and the event would no longer be held in Kaohsiung or anywhere in Taiwan.

Pride before fall

After that initial climb down, it seems that InterPride was once again maneuvering to have the name "Taiwan" taken off the event, this time to be replaced with the name Kaohsiung. There have also been claims that they were spreading unsubstantiated rumors about the Taiwan event organizer’s ability to finance the event.

The impression that this stance gives is of InterPride becoming the latest global organization to fall in line behind communist China when it comes to engaging with Taiwan. The timing of this development certainly does nothing to assuage that suspicion, and it is important to note that the initial application to host the event, which InterPride chose to accept, was made in the name of Taiwan.

If there is any truth to this, it should only serve to undermine InterPride's credibility with the global LGBTQI+ community. After all, Taiwan is the only country in Asia that permits equal marriage.

In China, meanwhile, LGBTQI+ individuals routinely face state-sponsored discrimination and censorship at the hands of the authoritarian regime there.

Two sides to story

Back in November, InterPride made a confused statement about working toward United Nations requirements with a view to gaining U.N. consultative status, as an explanation for the use of the term "region." Perhaps it was further pressure from the U.N. that has seen them bristle at the prospect of naming the event Taiwan once more, nine months on.

If so, shame on the U.N. for pandering to China’s demands and shame on InterPride for falling in line rather than standing up for what is best for the LGBTQI+ community both in Taiwan and around the world (including China).

However, there are two sides to every story, and it has been noted that since the inaugural WorldPride event in Rome in 2010, every edition has been named after the host city rather than the host country.

You could therefore argue that by insisting the 2025 edition be called WorldPride Taiwan, the organizers here were breaking with tradition and even adding fuel to China’s flawed claims that Taiwan is a region, not a country.

Even if you don’t want to go that far, it is worth asking whether the benefits of holding such a high-profile LGBTQI+ event in Kaohsiung outweigh any concerns over compromising on the name of the event.

It’s not as if Taiwan doesn’t have to compromise over its name in many other areas. Few people would argue that it would be better to boycott the Olympic Games and miss out on triumphs such as Kuo Hsing-chun’s (郭婞淳) gold medal in Tokyo last year, rather than reluctantly compete under the concocted Chinese Taipei moniker.

Shame all round

The WorldPride event would have been a huge deal for the city of Kaohsiung — arguably the biggest international event to take place in the city since the World Games in 2009.

It would have shone a light on a city fast developing into one of the most vibrant in the country. It would also have highlighted just how far ahead of the rest of South-East Asia and, frankly, much of the world, Taiwan is when it comes to LGBTQI+ rights.

The WorldPride event would have been a huge soft-power victory for Taiwan, and that would have been the case whether it was called WorldPride Taiwan or WorldPride Kaohsiung.

There is a genuine sense here that this was a real opportunity missed for both the city and the country.

And while people understand the reasons behind the decision to drop out, this is clearly a scenario in which there are no winners. That is a great shame for InterPride, for Kaohsiung, for Taiwan, and for the LGBTQI+ community around the world.