Taipei Pride festivities have returned in full force, and some of the most famous Asian drag queens were in Taiwan's capital to give showstopping performances at You Better Werq! A Night of Asian Drag Excellence. The lineup included Taiwan-born and reigning Rupaul's Drag Race champion Nymphia Wind and fellow Drag Race stars Kim Chi, Pangina Heals, Manila Luzon, Plastique Tiara, Marina Summers and Anetra.
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00:00Opulence, glamour, and fierce performances.
00:10Some of the biggest names in drag are in Taipei.
00:12Every October, the Taiwanese capital hosts what's been called East Asia's Largest Pride.
00:17And the city buzzes with events and shows like this one.
00:26This year, Taiwan-born drag queen Nymphia Nguyen shone a light on the country and its
00:31LGBTQ plus scene after winning the 16th season of the reality competition show RuPaul's Drag
00:38Race, becoming the show's first East Asian winner.
00:49And prominent drag queens say her win has made waves.
00:54Thanks to Nymphia winning, now more than ever, people are finally noticing the Asian
00:59excellence that we have going on in the media.
01:04The theme of the drag show is Asian Drag Excellence and is being headlined by Nymphia and a star-studded
01:11group of prominent drag queens of East and Southeast Asian descent, all of whom have
01:16starred in the Drag Race franchise.
01:21Asian excellence means being a representation of your culture, being completely who you
01:27are and being proud and saying it loud everywhere that I am Asian, I am here, and I am freaking
01:33excellent at it.
01:39Here the performers say the way they approach drag allows them to explore and express their
01:45cultural heritage.
01:47My name is Manila Luzon and I named myself Manila because it's the home place of my mother
01:51from Manila in the Philippines and it was a very important thing for me because I grew
01:57up in a predominantly white area in the United States and I thought that was something that
02:02set me apart and I chose to really like lean into my Filipino culture with my drag and
02:10yeah, it's been fantastic.
02:14Before the show, the drag queens took part in a meet and greet, which drew crowds of
02:18adoring fans.
02:20Taiwan is seen as a leader of LGBTQ plus rights in the region, with the country being the
02:25first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019.
02:30And Taipei Pride continues to shine a light on the local thriving queer community.
02:36And with events like this, Taiwan's drag scene seems to be making a place for itself on the
02:42global stage.
02:43Hank Xu, Brian Craig, and Wesley Lewis in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.