by Rex Wockner
International News Briefs
More than 100 gay people protested at Taipei City Hall on March 2 after the Ministry of Education sent a memo to high schools advising them to ban "homosexual activities," the China Post reported.
The federal agency issued the memo after a Taipei City Council committee discussed, but did not pass, a resolution suggesting that the city government investigate how to "prevent high school student groups from leading students into homosexual activities."
The demonstrators demanded that the national government explain itself and apologize. More than 110 organizations signed a petition to the same effect.
Ministry of Education Secretary General Tsang Tsan-chin responded with an official apology.
Protest organizer Gay & Lesbian Awakening Days said banning gay groups in schools interferes with students' natural development, according to the Post.
"We do not become homosexual because our friends are homosexual," GLAD said. "Through homosexual groups and with the support of peers with similar experiences, we can overcome the feelings of inferiority and fear pressed on us by the society and understand and accept ourselves."
