Taiwan’s outgoing leader hosts drag show with RuPaul winner in ‘world first’

Nymphia Wind thanks Tsai Ing-wen for championing LGBT+ rights in Taiwan

A Taiwanese drag queen, who made history by winning the hit TV show RuPaul’s Drag Race, celebrated her victory by staging a rousing and emotional performance for outgoing president Tsai Ing-wen.

Performing at the presidential office in Taipei on Wednesday, Nymphia Wind thanked Ms Tsai, who has championed LGBT+ rights and, in a first for Asia, led Taiwan in legalising same-sex marriage in 2019.

"Thank you for your contributions to this country, so that I could grow up to be like this today," Wind said. "Thank you for your eight years of dedication, becoming our Taiwan mother."

Wind, the drag persona of designer Leo Tsao, lip-synched to three songs, including "Marry the night" by Lady Gaga and Taiwanese diva Huang Fei’s "Chase, chase, chase".

"This is probably the first presidential office in the world to host a drag show," Wind told the president after her performance, streamed live on the presidential office’s YouTube channel, and thanked her for ensuring that the same-sex marriage law came to pass.

Nymphia Wind, dressed in yellow, and her team pose for photos at the presidential office in Taipei (AFP )

Nymphia Wind and her team pose for photographs at the presidential office in Taipei (AFP)

Ms Tsai, who will step down as president on Monday, congratulated Wind for her win saying: "Shantay, you stay," using one of RuPaul’s most well-known phrases for winning drag queens.

Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen meets drag queen Nymphia Wind (AFP)

Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen meets drag queen Nymphia Wind and her team (AFP)

Wind was an established artist on Taiwan’s thriving drag scene before she became the first non-American to win the 16th season of the Emmy award-winning drag queen reality competition in April.

Her win was a cultural milestone for Taiwan. The country doesn’t have a United Nations membership, only has 11 diplomatic allies and competes under a “Chinese Taipei” flag at the Olympics.

Taipei hosts Asia’s largest Pride march in October and last year vice president Lai Ching-te, who takes office as president on Monday, participated, becoming the most senior government leader ever to march at Pride.

Additional reporting by agencies