Boss walks employee down the aisle after father's lesbian snub

  • 08/03/2017

A Taiwanese woman whose father refused to bless her gay marriage has instead been escorted down the aisle by her employer.

In a touching video created by HSBC, the bank that employs Jennifer, she discusses the difficulties of coming out to her parents and of being a lesbian in a relatively conservative country like Taiwan.

"Before we came out, we were always afraid. We were worried to talk about it because we thought people might make fun of us," Jennifer explained.

She and Sam have been together 11 years, but she says opening up to her family about her same-sex attraction was a hugely challenging proposition.

"What troubled me most were my parents, because they are strongly against it. Whenever my father sees Sam, he pushes her out and tells her to get lost," she explained, before adding that she still cares deeply for her father, and still wants to make him proud.

Jennifer says she has attempted dating men and considered faking a marriage to appease her father.

In announcing her wedding, her father told her he would not support her marriage to Sam and thus would not attend her wedding - but the bank's chief executive John Li offered to walk her down the aisle in his place.

In the video, Jennifer and Sam are seen crying as they stand before scores of people, and a voiceover describes the "mixed feelings" they experienced on the day.

The duo say they hope their marriage, which is not officially recognised by Taiwan, will inspire members of the LGBT community around the country to take the same step.

Newshub.