10,000 gays march in Taipei....

This is terrific news - the flowering of gay life in Asia is astounding....and a large part of the reason has to do with the internet (which has finally allowed gays to meet and network)....

Thousands of gays, lesbians and transsexuals marched through the streets of Taipei Saturday in the capital's biggest pride celebration to date.

Five years ago only a handful of people turned out. This year some 10,000 people took part, more than four-times the number from a year ago.

Like pride parades in Europe and America it was led off by the rainbow flag with marchers decked out in often outrageous costumes. But uniquely Asian, the marchers also carried banners - red considered a symbol of sex, orange for power.

And like parades elsewhere Taipei gays tied a message to the partying - "we're here, we're queer, and want our rights".

LGBT civil rights bills have been languishing for years in Parliament.

In 2003 the cabinet approved a draft anti-discrimination bill and in 2005 a draft of a marriage equality bill was endorsed by cabinet. Neither piece of legislation has made to a vote on the floor.

I lived in Asia for 5 1/2 years. And, right before my eyes, I saw an incredible flowering of gay life. In China today, gays can easily find each other through the internet; there are gay bars in Singapore, Malaysia and in just about every Asian country; and gays are realizing that they too want things like marriage.