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In Taiwan, 250,000 March in Support of Marriage Equality for Human Rights Day

Taiwan Rally Same-sex Marriage
Chiang Ying-ying/AP

Many hope the island will be the first in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.

Taiwan celebrated International Human Rights Day on Saturday with a strong showing of support for legalizing marriage equality.

About 250,000 marched in Taipei and rallied around performances and concerts in support of an amendment legalizing same-sex marriage.

A group of protesters did gather, but they didn't necessarily advocate against same-sex marriage--just that the issue should be decided by referendum instead of a legislative amendment.

Related: 5 Countries Where LGBT Rights Came Under Attack This Year

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen supports marriage equality, as do many political parties. The marriage amendment has a chance to be considered during the next legislative session later this month.

However, despite hopes that Taiwan may make history in Asia by legalizing same-sex marriage, a recent phone call from U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to Taiwan may overshadow internal issues in the coming weeks. The phone call flouted decades of foreign policy procedure and set a tense tone between the U.S. and China before Trump has even taken office.

Watch a news report about the rally below.

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