The rounding up of customers at a gay bar weeks before Saturday’s Pride festival has some questioning the island’s progressive image

Josh was having a drink at Commander D, a popular gay bar in Taipei, on a Saturday afternoon when several police officers suddenly burst in. “Squat down and don’t move,” they shouted. Bewildered, he looked around to see the bar owner being handcuffed and forced to his knees.

The 28-year-old was among 51 customers to be rounded up and taken away for questioning over suspected breaches of public decency rules.