2022 Year in Review

Taiwan has been at the forefront of international media attention over tensions
with China. While the Fourth Taiwan Strait Crisis – as it will be dubbed – has
captured the attention of Western audiences, a lesser-known and perhaps more
unnerving story has emerged.
In 2021, the southern Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung won the bid to host
WorldPride in 2025, which was slated to be held in East Asia for the first time in
the event’s history. However, InterPride, the organiser of WorldPride, dropped
Kaohsiung and Taiwan as hosts due to “political considerations”.
InterPride is in the process of applying to the United Nations to receive
consultative status as a global representative body. In doing so, it must align with
UN requirements, which inadvertently catches the watchful attention of China in
light of Beijing’s ever-increasing influence in the UN human rights system. In this
process, InterPride has compromised its core values to appease a country that
stands in polar opposition to InterPride’s existence, and a government that
would never allow an InterPride event to be held within its jurisdiction.
CHINA'S INFLUENCE
This entire debacle stands to demonstrate China’s hidden influence that extends
to even the most unexpected segments of western society. It is comparable to
Amnesty International or Human Rights Watch cancelling a planned
march in Taipei at Beijing’s insistence.
In the past, countries, companies, and international organisations have
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