Taiwan Could Become First Country in Asia to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

Ongoing progression of same-sex marriage by law has reached Asia.

In Taiwan, lawmakers are in the process of trying to pass bills in support of marriage equality and are coming close as the issue becomes less and less disputed within the nation.

According to Tseng Yen-jung, spokeswoman for the Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy group, 80 percent of the country’s citizens between 20 and 29 support same-sex marriage and Taiwan’s United Daily News discovered through a survey in 2012 that 55 percent of the entire public support it as well, though with 37 percent opposed.

While it may seem like there is opposition from the nation’s 23 million Buddhists and people who follow traditional Chinese religions, there in fact is none at all as they typically all take no serious position on sexual orientation or gay marriage for that matter.

And just last month, the annual Gay Pride parade took place in Taipei, drawing tens of thousands of people.

There are currently three bills regarding same-sex marriage in the works and one is already under review and could pass within months.

Democratic Progressive Party Member of Parliament Yu Mei-nu is sponsoring the bill set for debate soon and she believes it would be a huge stop forward for human rights in the region.

Additionally, President Tsai Ing-wen, the first female leader of Taiwan, supports marriage equality and the Justice Ministry has stated on its website in October to maintain an “attitude of openness” on the subject.