LGBT history in Taiwan
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The major religions in Taiwan are Buddhism and Taoism. In these religions, the beliefs present no arguable issues about LGBTQ people. There are no laws about punishing sodomy, which means a sexual relationship between males is not considered an abomination , unlike in many western and Abrahamic religions. However, it was long considered a taboo issue. When human rights issues were discussed in political arenas, the concept of '' Tongzhi'' () became a key term among the politicians in Taiwan. When it emerged in political forums, Taiwanese people began to become familiar with the idea that ''Tongzhi'' people being a part of their culture. Yet still, LGBTQ people were not mentioned in Taiwanese law. Punishment for being part of the LGBTQ community did not exist, yet there was also not any welfare or protection for LGBTQ people. Beginning in the 1990s, the movements of the human rights for LGBTQ in Taiwan gained traction. Since the movement emerged, Taiwan has been considered one of the most LGBTQ friendly nations in Asia. There is a large gay community and the biggest
Pride Parade A pride parade (also known as pride march, pride event, or pride festival) is an outdoor event celebrating lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer culture, queer (LGBTQ) social and self-acceptance, achievements, LGBT rights by country o ...
in Asia is held annually in Taipei. On 25 May 2017, the
Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
issued a long-awaited ruling on the laws banning same-sex marriage. They ruled that such laws were unconstitutional. This was a massive breakthrough for the fight for equality, as it requires the Parliament to amend the laws within two years. In 2019, same-sex marriage was fully legalized. In some cities a same sex partnership card for LGBTQ couples is issued to prove their relationship in case of emergency. LGBTQ discrimination is now banned in workplaces and schools. In addition, people can legally change their gender. Taiwan's first female president was elected in May 2016, Tsai Ing-wen, and officially supports the rights of the LGBT people. She worked to put the processes that legalized same-sex marriage into motion, and once said she desired that Taiwan become the first country in the Asia to allow same-sex marriage. Overall, Taiwan has a progressive history of LGBTQ.


Timeline of LGBT history in Taiwan

*1683: The Qing dynasty annexes Taiwan. *1740: Anti-homosexual decrees were promulgated. *1895: Qing China ceded Taiwan to the
Japanese Empire The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent forma ...
. Meiji laws applied. *1912: The
Republic of China Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northeast ...
is established. ''Ji jian'' was abolished. *1945: Taiwan is returned to the Republic of China by the Japanese. *1949: The People's Republic of China is established and the Nationalist government of the Republic of China retreats to Taiwan. There was no mention in the laws about queer people. *1983: the first queer novel,
Crystal Boys ''Crystal Boys'' (孽子, pinyin: ''Nièzǐ'', "sons of sin") is a novel written by author Pai Hsien-yung and first published in 1983 in Taiwan. In 1988, this novel went into circulation in China; its French and English translations were publi ...
, was published in Chinese as "Niezi" which means Evil Sons. The author of the book is Pai Hsien-yung, he described the gay history of 1970s in this book. Crystal Boys has been famous for being a well-organized piece of literature regarding gay history, and for its illustration of the 1970s’ subterranean homosexual prostitution minor culture based in the New Park in downtown Taipei. However, as the following examples demonstrates, it has been a site of identification for a new style of "Tongzhi(Queer)" awareness. *1990: The first lesbian group, Between Us, was established. *1996: a Taiwanese writer Hsu Yu-sheng and his American partner Gray Harriman had the first public same-sex wedding in Taiwan. *1998: the
Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association (TTHA; ) is an organization that provides the LGBT community with peer counseling, support networks, and a community resource center. It is the first LGBT non-governmental organization (NGO) registered in Tai ...
, a legally registered LGBTQ organisation, was founded. *2002: Taiwanese gay rights activists were invited by the then president of the Republic of China (Taiwan), Chen Shui-Bian, to the presidential office. *2003: Vice-president and convener of the government's human rights commission ( Annette Lu Hsiu-lien) drafted a basic human rights law that included an article on same-sex marriage and adoption rights for same-sex couples. It was discussed in the cabinet, but due to the elections in 2004 and a change in the government, it was not passed. The first pride parade was held, and was sponsored by the government. *2004: The second pride parade was funded by community groups. *2005:, a same-sex marriage bill was submitted by
Hsiao Bi-khim Hsiao Bi-khim (; born August 7, 1971) is a Taiwanese politician and diplomat who served as a member of the Legislative Yuan from 2002 to 2008 and again between 2012 and 2020. Since July 2020, Hsiao has been serving as the representative of the R ...
, who is a lawmaker from the
Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
. However, it was rejected. *2006: There was the second public wedding between gay rights activist Nelson Chen and his partner Kao Chih-Wei. *2010: a third gay couple had a public wedding. *2012: The first lesbian couple had a public wedding with the blessing of monks. *2013: There was a poll about the same-sex marriage legislation. The results showed that more than half of the people in the survey supported same-sex marriage. *2016: Same-sex marriage was in the process of being legalized. Once this was announced, a lot of people, especially from Catholic groups with significant influence began to protest and speak out against the process in front of the
Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...
. They were however met with huge crowds of counter-protesters that waved rainbow flags and showed support for the process. *January 2016, Tsai Ing-wen won the presidential election and became the first female president of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Tsai and her party, the
Democratic Progressive Party The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is a Taiwanese nationalist and centre-left political party in the Republic of China (Taiwan). Controlling both the Republic of China presidency and the unicameral Legislative Yuan, it is the majori ...
, supports LGBTQ rights. *29 October 2016: The biggest LGBT Pride Parade in Asia (to date) was held in Taipei. This march gathered around 80,000 people from Taiwan and around Asia. The participants of the parade rallied for the legalization of same-sex marriage in Taiwan. *20 May 2016: The city of
Kaohsiung Kaohsiung City (Mandarin Chinese: ; Wade–Giles: ''Kao¹-hsiung²;'' Pinyin: ''Gāoxióng'') is a special municipality located in southern Taiwan. It ranges from the coastal urban center to the rural Yushan Range with an area of . Kaohsi ...
issued the first same-sex partnership card to the young lesbian couple, Yang Ying-fan (陳盈汎) and Wu Yu-ting (吳羽婷). This card is an official ID card and it has the basic personal information of two people's name, birth dates, and birthplace. This card however does not have legal binding force; but it can be used to verify the relationship between a same sex couple. It can be used in the case of an emergency in medical institutions *10 December 2016: over 200,000 protesters gathered in front of the presidential palace in Taipei's
Ketagalan Boulevard Ketagalan Boulevard () is an arterial road in Zhongzheng District in Taipei, Taiwan, between the Presidential Office Building and the . It is long and has a total of ten lanes in each direction with no median. History The former name of this ...
to support the bill to legalize same-sex marriage.The bill would remove specific terms for
genders Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures u ...
(man and woman) and change the word to two people. *25 May 2017: The
Supreme Court of the Republic of China The Supreme Court of the Republic of China () is the court of last resort in the Republic of China (Taiwan), except matters regarding interpretation of the Constitution and unifying the interpretation of laws and orders which are decided by the ...
ruled that laws preventing same-sex couples from marrying were unconstitutional. They required the
Legislative Yuan The Legislative Yuan is the unicameral legislature of the Republic of China (Taiwan) located in Taipei. The Legislative Yuan is composed of 113 members, who are directly elected for 4-year terms by people of the Taiwan Area through a parallel v ...
to pass and enact new laws amending the issue within two years. The court also ruled that if they were to fail to amend the marriage laws within two years, same-sex couples will be able to register their marriage by going through current marriage registration processes at any household registration office. *17 May 2019: Same-sex marriage was legalized in Taiwan and became effective since 24 May 2019, including rights in areas such as taxes, insurance and child custody. *2024: Huang Jie became the first openly LGBT candidate to be elected to the Legislative Yuan.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:LGBT History In Taiwan Taiwan History of Taiwan LGBT in Taiwan LGBT history in China