Toot toot for gay rights! — here’s Owen C from Elska Ekstra Taipei

When I first went to Taipei back in 2016, it was already being heralded as the gay capital of Asia. That's why we chose it as the setting for our first Elska issue to be made in Asia. And quickly I discovered how all the rainbow credo was real and not hyperbole.

It was our fifth issue and was also our easiest to make yet in terms of being able to find interested participants. In fact interest was so high that we had to turn several guys away because we simply wouldn't have enough pages to fit everyone. I was surprised at how open and gay it actually was. We'd already done an issue in Berlin, surely a gayer place than Taipei. But while there may be more gays in Berlin as a proportion of the general population (though I don't have hard evidence on this), Berlin gays are perhaps a little over it. The Taiwanese gay community was excited, proud, and ready to be seen and heard by the world.

Paradise is found, a gaysian paradise! — here’s Rhenz T from Elska Taipei

Back then some of the guys told me that they had hopes of becoming the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. And today that has become a reality. I couldn't be more happy for our Taiwanese cousins that they should have this right, and also the honour to be an example setter for the rest of their continent.

Our Elska Taipei issue had been out of print for a while, but in honour of this historic news, we've ordered a limited edition reissue. You can order now from elskamagazine.com, but note that orders will not be shipped until after 24th May while we wait for our printers to do their thing.