Product details
喀飛, the driving force behind Taiwan's largest LGBTQ+ organization – the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association –
Presents a firsthand account of thirty years on the front lines of the LGBTQ+ movement, a battle cry for gender equality.
His incisive commentary preserves history, and his powerful, moving arguments inspire love.
Understand the past of the LGBTQ+ movement to build a better future for Taiwanese society.
★ From the budding of Taiwan's LGBTQ+ movement to the passage of marriage equality:
forty-two records + three decade chronicles of thirty crucial years on the ground. ★
★ Taiwan LGBTQ+ Movement Timeline: 635 entries, 66,000 words – the most comprehensive collection ever. ★
★ Specially recommended by Chi Ta-wei, author of "The Queer Invention of Taiwan: A History of LGBTQ+ Literature." ★
[About the Author]
喀飛 has been involved in Taiwan's LGBTQ+ movement for over twenty-five years, focusing on LGBTQ+ and HIV human rights, the construction of discrimination and stigma, children's sexual rights, LGBTQ+ community culture, oral history of older LGBTQ+ individuals, and the history of Taiwan's LGBTQ+ movement. Previous roles include: Founding Chairperson of the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association, Commissioner of the Executive Yuan's Human Rights Commission, and Head of the Publicity Group for the Taiwan Pride Parade Alliance. He was also a co-initiator of the Taiwan AIDS Action Alliance and the Civil AIDS Law Amendment Alliance. He participated in the "Interview and Publication Project for Older LGBTQ+ Individuals" by the Older LGBTQ+ Group of the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association, leading to the publication of "Rainbow Senior Bus" (彩虹熟年巴士) (2010, 基本書坊出版) and "Grandma's Girlfriend" (阿媽的女朋友) (2020, 大塊文化出版).
[Wholehearted Recommendations from Various Sectors in Taiwan]
王蘋 (Secretary-General of the Gender Equality Rights Association)
王增勇 (Professor, Department of Social Work, National Chengchi University)
呂欣潔 (Chief Executive Officer, Rainbow Equality Coalition Taiwan)
周美玲 (Director)
林宜慧 (Secretary-General, Taiwan AIDS Rights Advocacy Association)
邵祺邁 (Founder, G Books & Youji Books)
許佑生 (Writer)
陳芳明 (Chair Professor, National Chengchi University)
陳珊妮 (Musician)
詹傑 (Golden Bell Award-winning Screenwriter)
瞿欣怡 (Writer)
羅毓嘉 (Writer)
– Listed in stroke order of Chinese surnames.
[Content of the Book]
Did you know that in 1997, gay men without dating apps were humiliated by police inspections on Changde Street, treated like criminals caught in the act? Do you know about the media's bloodthirsty pursuit of the gay university student who fell from a bar in 1998?
Did you know that past presidents and many political stars were not always supportive of LGBTQ+ rights, and even broke promises?
Did you know that the Ministry of the Interior once openly issued a document stating that LGBTQ+ people should not be promoted?
Did you know how Asia's largest Pride parade became the focus of world media through a rainbow landscape of ten thousand people?
Did you know that until 2010, the Taipei City Government's Bureau of Education was still issuing discriminatory documents against LGBTQ+ individuals?
You might know that in April 2000, Yeh Yung-chih, the "Rose Boy," tragically passed away.
But did you know that in 2011, a seventh-grade boy committed suicide by jumping from the roof of his house after being constantly mocked for being "effeminate"?
Did you know that in the 2018 referendums, anti-LGBTQ+ groups spent at least NT$100 million on advertisements daily, disseminating misleading information to voters?
The achievement of marriage equality in Taiwan in 2019 did not happen overnight.
喀飛, who emerged from the Wild Lily student movement and stood at the forefront of the 1990s, recounts how Taiwan connected the explosive energy of the post-martial law era of the late 1980s. Whether it was literary creation, gender discourse, the founding of magazines, the opening of columns, radio broadcasts, theatrical performances, award-winning films, or online gatherings, a hundred flowers bloomed, igniting the energy of Taiwan's LGBTQ+ movement. He and his friends also co-founded the "Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association" in the late 1990s.
Over thirty years, he has spoken out for LGBTQ+ individuals and dedicated himself to Taiwan's LGBTQ+ movement, defining the vibrant 1990s as "continuing to create an era on the tide of the times." When the new millennium arrived, whether facing politicians or anti-LGBTQ+ forces, "the movement is an endless battle." Moving into the 2010s, he strongly focused on issues concerning older LGBTQ+ individuals and HIV, hoping to "review history to nourish the next generation."
Looking back over thirty years, the middle-aged Ka Fei has compiled his long-term observations from both on and off the field. Whether it's his eloquent reasoning, sharp and direct criticism, or娓娓道來的 memories, this book aims to be a period history, filled with patient commentary and a bright gaze that can see through the oppression and discrimination in the fog. With a more understanding and inclusive stance, it offers empathy to every minority on the path to achieving LGBTQ+ equality.
In their suicide note in 1994, Lin Ching-hui and Shih Chi-ya, two female students from Taipei First Girls' High School who committed suicide together, wrote: "It is very hard to be a person. What makes it difficult for us is not the frustrations or pressures that ordinary people imagine, but that the essence of survival in society is not suitable for us."
It is not "us" who are wrong, but the "essence" of a society that has not been enlightened or awakened.
This book, as "a battle cry from an equality advocate," aims to remind the ignorant, embrace the vulnerable, and warm the lonely through these far-from-fading past events.
★ Recalling how the LGBTQ+ movement budded from popular LGBTQ+ publications, BBS debates, and LGBTQ+ radio programs in the 1990s; recounting experiences of repeatedly confronting government officials and anti-LGBTQ+ forces, along with insights into planning Pride parades, tracing back to the gradually loosening yet still turbulent social atmosphere of the millennium; and in the 2010s, when discrimination and stigma persisted, vehemently fighting against anti-intellectualism and loudly proclaiming: "Please do not forget the taste of loneliness in the closet, and those who are still enduring it."
★ With a clear timeline and 66,000 words, it comprehensively collects and lists 635 major events in four aspects of Taiwan's LGBTQ+ movement. Through these events, understand how the energy of the LGBTQ+ movement accumulated like grains of sand in an hourglass to reach marriage equality. Similarly, it is also through these events that we understand that marriage equality is not the final step. Properly facing the discrimination and harm that occurred in the past is precisely to avoid repeating the same mistakes.
[Features of the Book]
★ Author 喀飛 is the first chairperson of the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association, a long-time observer of LGBTQ+ community culture, a researcher of LGBTQ+ movement history, and a witness to how LGBTQ+ individuals moved from being heavily discriminated against to achieving gender equality, based on his firsthand experience on the front lines.
★ The entire book is divided into "three decades," focusing on the major events of Taiwan's LGBTQ+ movement from the 1990s to 2020, re-organizing and examining the difficult situations LGBTQ+ individuals faced regarding media persecution and social pressure. Three "Decade Chronicles" provide a historical overview of each decade, setting the historical coordinates.
★ With thirty years of editing experience and over fifteen years of experience writing oral histories of older LGBTQ+ individuals, the author analyzes and organizes complex historical scenes, vividly and emotionally recounting human stories in the torrent of time.
★ In addition to specifically focusing on three major LGBTQ+ stigma events, this book delves into "issues of older LGBTQ+ individuals" and "HIV issues," paying attention to the minority within the minority. It is precisely because of deeply feeling the pervasiveness of discrimination and fear that the author tirelessly explains the principles and writes about HIV equality.
★ An exclusive interview with the author 喀飛 by 陳慶祐 presents the personal history that closely follows the progress of the times, outside the shared timeline, in an interview format, allowing small history and big history to resonate together.
★ The end of the book includes a detailed "Taiwan LGBTQ+ Movement: Thirty-Year Timeline" (台灣同志運動．三十年大事紀), listing every event that collectively moved the LGBTQ+ movement forward in four categories: "Publication/Arts/Media/Internet," "Law/Politics/Human Rights/AIDS," "Campus Events/Education," and "Gatherings/Organizations/Parades/Major Events/Social Movement Connections" – the most detailed compilation of LGBTQ+ movement history ever.
王蘋 (Secretary-General of the Gender Equality Rights Association)
喀飛's writing is a precious asset to the movement.
Step by step, the movement leaves behind a trail called history, which also paves the way for the future we look towards.
王增勇 (Professor, Department of Social Work, National Chengchi University, Commissioner of the Transitional Justice Commission)
Inspired by the Wild Lily Movement in his youth, 喀飛 chose the LGBTQ+ movement as the arena for his life's practice. Thirty years, ten thousand days, over six hundred major events – these six hundred events could not have been recorded so completely without his personal experience in the LGBTQ+ movement. Known as the "Mazu of the LGBTQ+ Movement," he uses his astonishing memory and precise writing to leave behind this precious historical record, allowing us to understand that the freedom LGBTQ+ individuals enjoy today was never a given.
呂欣潔 (Chief Executive Officer, Rainbow Equality Coalition Taiwan)
The LGBTQ+ movement has come a long way through trials and tribulations to the day when same-sex marriage was legalized. This was achieved through the hard work and perseverance of our predecessors, and 喀飛 was a key figure among them. I learned media operations, mentorship, and unwavering commitment to what is right from him. I also learned the selflessness required when the movement needs me and the grace to let go at any time. What he gave me is far more than what I did for him. After years of eager anticipation, this book has finally been published. May history engage in dialogue with you, enriching and authenticating our future selves.
周美玲 (Director)
Looking back, there are so many scars in my life that I can't bear to revisit. Fortunately, 喀飛's writing has helped LGBTQ+ friends soothe these old wounds, and they have gradually scabbed over. Thank you for this book, which records how hard-won "ordinariness" is. It is our shared life imprint.
林宜慧 (Secretary-General, Taiwan AIDS Rights Advocacy Association)
In this era, what you consider "natural" was actually once "unnatural"; and those "onces" were not long ago. Thank you, 喀飛, for participating in AIDS work as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. This in itself is a demonstration and practice of anti-discrimination, which has never been easy.
邵祺邁 (Founder, G Books & Youji Books)
喀飛's book is one where a single page needs to be read as if it were at least thirty pages long. Amidst the seemingly light historical scenes and the clamorous events, the figures of comrades who once stood shoulder to shoulder and were dearly loved constantly flash by. The LGBTQ+ community needs to continuously write its own history. Too many lives and lessons are something we should never forget.
許佑生 (Writer)
I first met 喀飛 in 1996 when Gerry and I were preparing for our wedding. At that time, he orchestrated the wedding venue decorations with two long, rainbow flags, helping the wedding become an early, dazzling symbol of Taiwan's LGBTQ+ movement. For over twenty years, I have witnessed 喀飛's involvement in major and minor events fighting for LGBTQ+ and gender equality. He has been involved in every battle, a truly precious living history of Taiwan's LGBTQ+ movement.
陳芳明 (Chair Professor, National Chengchi University)
As someone who was on the blacklist, I can best understand the interference of the political system in personal life. I was exiled overseas for eighteen years, and when I returned in 1992, Taiwan was already different. By then, the entire island had rewritten the scenes of 白先勇's "Crystal Boys" (孽子). I participated in several Pride parades for same-sex marriage and also discussed LGBTQ+ literature in a dedicated chapter of my "History of Taiwanese New Literature" (台灣新文學史). After publishing 紀大偉's "The Queer Invention of Taiwan" (同志文學史) in 2017, I became even more certain that Taiwanese society had changed. This "Taiwan's LGBTQ+ Movement: Thirty Years" (台灣同運三十) completed by 喀飛 is breathtaking to read. It makes us feel the twists and turns of history. Thank you for this historical memory, which leaves us with valuable milestones.
詹傑 (Golden Bell Award-winning Screenwriter)
We always forget too quickly and have to rely on someone to record it. Regarding the stories of LGBTQ+ individuals and the history of HIV equality in Taiwan, 喀飛 is undoubtedly one of the most important narrators.
瞿欣怡 (Writer)
Thank you, 喀飛, for writing such an important book, which not only records personal experiences but also leaves a record for the LGBTQ+ movement. The road to LGBTQ+ equality is long, and having 喀飛 as a companion makes me feel secure.
羅毓嘉 (Writer)
This book witnesses the gradually changing trajectory and scars of gender equality in Taiwanese society over the past thirty years, reminding us that the current free air in Taiwan did not come out of nowhere. And we are willing to continue to protect it.