Taiwan to legalize same-sex marriages
Three new bills in support of marriage equality will be a first in Asia
TAIPEI, TAIWAN— Su Shan and her partner are raising 5-month-old twins together, but only one of the women is their legal parent. That could soon change as Taiwan appears set to become the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
“Now, if something happens to the child, the other partner is nothing but a stranger,” said Su, a 35-year-old software engineer in Taipei.
By contrast, either partner in a legally recognized marriage could make legal, medical and educational decisions, she says.
Taiwanese lawmakers are currently working on three bills in support of marriage equality. Same-sex marriage also has the prominent support of President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan’s first female head of state.
About 80 per cent of Taiwanese between ages 20 and 29 support samesex marriage, said Tseng Yen-Jung, spokesperson for the group Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy, citing local university studies.
Taiwan’s United Daily News found in a survey taken four years ago that 55 per cent of the public supported same-sex marriage, with 37 per cent opposed. That’s seen as a reflection of Taiwan’s ready acceptance of multi-party democracy and other inclusive attitudes, as well as the fact that Taiwan’s 23 million people largely follow Buddhism and traditional Chinese religions that take no strong positions on sexual orientation or gay marriage.
Taiwan would join Canada, Colombia, Ireland, the United States and 16 other countries that have legalized same-sex marriage over the past 15 years, according to the Washington, D.C.-based LGBT rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. But it would be a notable exception among Asian and Middle Eastern countries, at least 20 of which continue to ban same-sex intercourse.