Ten of the biggest stars in Taiwan’s music industry are coming together to garner support for legalisation of same-sex marriage in the country.

Led by pop diva A-mei who’s known for her long-time support for marriage equality, the benefit concert named ‘Love is King‘ will feature big-name idols like Jolin Tsai, Hebe Tien, Jam Hsiao, Elva Hsiao, A-Lin, Dee Hsu, Show Luo, Rainie Yang, as well as the band, Sodagreen.

The star-studded concert will be held at the Taipei Arena on 1 August, and tickets are priced at NT$500 (US$15.37), NT$1,000, NT$1,500 and NT$2,000 on tixCraft.

‘Love is a right. Your love requires more courage than others. I will accompany you on this long and arduous path. One day, we will celebrate the victory of true love in a rainbow Utopia,’ A-mei said in a statement.

‘Marriage is a basic human right. I hope that each one of my friends has the right to decide if he or she would like to get married,’ Jolin Tsai remarked.

Taiwan’s gay marriage bill, first proposed in 2003, became a topic of debate in 2013 when it was put on the table again.

The proposed amendment to the Civil Code had aimed to legalise gay marriage and allow married gay couples to adopt children.

However, after clearing a first reading in the Legislative Yuan in 2013, the bill was stalled, largely due to opposition from religious groups, reports China Post.

At the end of the previous legislative session, the bill lost effect after failing to make any progress.

Chien Chih-chieh, secretary-general of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR), commented that it would be up to Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators, which is led by the newly elected pro-gay female president Tsai Ing-wen, to re-propose the bill.

She added that her group will continue to monitor the DPP on the issue.

The profits from the concert will be donated to TAPCPR.

Chien expressed her thanks to the public as well as the pop idols:

‘We are very thankful. We thank our friends in the entertainment sector for understanding that this movement is in deep need of everyone’s support, especially monetary support.’

H/t: China Post