‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ winner Nymphia Wind performs for Taiwan’s outgoing president

Taiwanese drag queen Nymphia Wind marked her recent victory on season 16 of RuPaul’s Drag Race in a momentous celebration of pride and diversity with an electrifying performance at Taiwan’s presidential office on Wednesday. Reuters reports that Nymphia performed in front of President Tsai Ing-wen and other distinguished guests.

Tsai and her Democratic Progressive Party have been staunch advocates for LGBTQ+ rights, making Taiwan a beacon of liberal values in Asia. In 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize marriage equality.

According to Reuters, Nymphia, the first person from East Asia to win the RuPaul’s Drag Racecrown, captivated the audience with a series of performances. The drag artist performed Lady Gaga’s “Marry the Night” and Taiwanese singer Huang Fei’s “Chase, Chase, Chase.” Clad in a striking yellow outfit, her performance reached its crescendo with a powerful rendition of Jolin Tsai’s gender equality anthem, “Womxnly,” performed alongside five other drag queens.

“This is probably the first presidential office in the world to host a drag show,” Nymphia said to Tsai after her performance, which was streamed live on the presidential office’s YouTube channel. She thanked Tsai for her efforts in legalizing same-sex marriages and her dedication to the LGBTQ+ community. “Thank you for your contributions to this country so that I could grow up to be like this today,” Nymphia said, visibly moved. “Thank you for your eight years of dedication, becoming our Taiwan mother.”

Tsai congratulated Nymphia on her historic win. “Shantay, you stay,” Tsai said, quoting one of RuPaul’s iconic phrases.

Taipei hosts East Asia’s largest Pride march every October, and last year, Vice President Lai Ching-te, who is set to take office as president on Monday, made history by becoming the highest-ranking government official to attend the event, Reuters reports.