Conservative, anti-gay religious groups call for boycott of McDonald's
In a rare move by a fast food chain in Asia, a new ad by McCafé
features a young man coming out to his father by writing on a paper
coffee cup.
In a McCafé, the son writes ‘I like boys’ on his coffee cup and shows
it to his father. The father sighs loudly and walks away from the table
without saying a word.
He returns with his own beverage in hand, and writes several words
over what his son had initially written to read, ‘I accept that you like
boys’.
The son tries to hold back his tears as they sip their drinks and exchange smiles of relief.
The 90-second ad is the third and latest in the More Warmth in Conversations campaign by McCafé.
Since the ad was posted on Friday evening on McDonald’s Taiwan’s
Facebook page, the video has been shared more than 6,800 times and
viewed 1.9 million times.
On Youtube, over 2,400 users gave the video a ‘thumbs up’ and only 88 ‘thumbs down’.
Taiwan is said to be one of Asia’s most gay-friendly territories with
seven cities accepting household registrations of same-sex couples
although same-sex marriage is not legal.
According to Shanghaiist quoting a local Chinese-language news website CTS, secretary
general of the Alliance of Taiwan Religious Groups for the Protection
of Family Chang Shou-yi, has urged parents and consumers to boycott McDonald’s.
In a statement to the press, Chang wrote that the Alliance ‘does not
approve of the ideological stand behind the advertisement’ and accused
McDonald’s of ‘openly promoting gay issues.’
‘Because McDonald’s is frequented by many children, it is especially
important to oppose the promotion of same-sex behavior.’ The Alliance
‘opposes all advertising that miseducate children on sexual behavior,’
and ‘rebukes and boycotts all enterprises that are polluting the next
generation.’
In 2013, a gay marriage bill passed its first reading in parliament but has since been stalled by a small but vocal and organized Christian minority.