Homosexuality in Taiwan

Legal assessment of same-sex sexual relationships in the states of Asia:
Basically legal: Same-sex marriage Other non-marital partnership (or unregistered cohabitation) Foreign same-sex marriages recognized No legal recognition of same-sex couples Restricted freedom of expression Basically illegal: Punishable but not enforced, or unrecognized Penalty with life imprisonment death penalty











The Republic of China in Taiwan is one of the most liberal countries in Asia when it comes to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transsexual rights and the first country on the continent to introduce marriage for everyone on May 24, 2019. A law has been in preparation and discussion since 2003 that would allow same-sex marriage and make the island nation a pioneer in Asia in this regard. Taiwan can also be seen as one of the most socially tolerant societies in Chinese culture. Tens of thousands of people take part in the annual Taiwan Pride Parade , making it the largest CSD in Asia.

legality

On January 17, 2004, police arrested 93 men in Taipei City who were attending a sex party. However, this happened because drug use was suspected. The public was shocked as nearly a third of the participants were HIV positive. The arrests were heavily condemned in gay circles.

Anti-discrimination laws

In 2007, Taiwan passed a law prohibiting discrimination in the workplace based on sexual orientation. The discrimination of sexual minorities in schools and educational institutions has been prohibited since 2003 by a "Gender Equality Act".

Recognition of same-sex couples

At the end of October 2003 a law was drawn up in favor of various human rights in the government. Two draft laws on equality for homosexual couples in marriage passed the first reading in parliament on November 8, 2016 and were then referred to sub-committees for further discussion.

Between May 2015 and March 2016, all sub-government cities and several other municipalities in Taiwan allowed same-sex couples to register as a joint household in the municipal budget registers. Registration in the household register does not, however, mean legal equality with conventional partnerships.

In May 2017, the Constitutional Court in Taiwan ruled that same-sex marriage should be allowed by law in Taiwan within two years. If this does not make a new regulation within the deadline, the authorities would have to treat requests for marriage by same-sex couples in the same way as if they had made heterosexual couples.

Conservative interest groups were formed, some of which were supported by Christian groups, and they acted against the introduction of same-sex marriage. A referendum was held in Taiwan on November 24, 2018, allowing voters to vote on various issues. Three questions dealt explicitly with same-sex marriage, and two more with the subject of "Teaching about homosexuality in schools". The majority of the voters spoke out against same-sex marriage, in favor of the introduction of a registered partnership for same-sex couples and against the aforementioned teaching. However, the referendum was not legally binding.

In April 2019, the government first passed a draft law according to which a civil partnership sanctioned by the civil registry should be legally possible for same-sex couples from May 2019. After further deliberations in parliament, it voted on May 17, 2019 for the introduction of marriage for same-sex couples. Two alternative legislative proposals by more conservative groups, which spoke not of “marriage” but of “same-sex union” or “same-sex family relationship”, were rejected. The law was passed with 66 to 27 votes in parliament with a majority of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The opening of the marriage took effect on May 24, 2019 in Taiwan.

history

Taiwan society is an immigrant society . In the 17th century, the Qing government limited the number of women allowed to emigrate from mainland China to the island of Taiwan. This limitation resulted in a gender imbalance in Taiwanese society. People who had same-sex relationships were called "Lo Han Jiao" (羅漢 腳).

The status of homosexuals in Taiwan has changed over the past few decades, not because of a general public debate but as a result of various disputes, some of which have become more prominent depending on Taiwan's social, political and economic developments.

Depending on the social and political characteristics, “traditional”, “psychoanalytic”, “humanistic” and “postmodern” discourses prevailed . A discourse of heteronormativity , perceived as traditional, shaped the 1950s in Taiwan.

At a time when the endeavors of the ruling party, the KMT , but also large sections of the population were aimed at restoring “order” after the “chaos” (luan 亂) of the civil war, the Sino-Japanese war and after the Establishing a new power structure in Taiwan by the Guomindang troops as a result of the withdrawal of Japanese troops and Japanese administrative officials, gender was also seen in clear categories in public discourse, both in science and in literature. There was an - unspoken - equation of biological gender, social gender and sexual orientation.

A medical-psychoanalytical discourse with “Chinese characteristics” shaped the 1960s; it was based on psychoanalytic approaches, mainly from the USA, even if cultural differences were partially discussed. Simplifying psychoanalytic approaches were adopted, but with some significant differences: the question of “curability” played a lesser role, there was still no moralizing assessment of homosexuality as “sinful behavior”, and in contrast to the US discourse, where one of a negative development of the individual assumed, it was argued socially and collectively.

In the 1970s there was a broadening, but also a "trivialization" of the discourse in the mass media, along with the first literary attempts to address the topic. With the urbanization of Taiwan, the advancing mechanization of the economy, the expansion of universities, the expansion of scientific contacts with the West, the published opinions of Taiwan offered "experts" a large space at the end of the 1970s. These experts were usually medical professionals who repeatedly emphasized that they were not homosexual themselves and that they took up the topic out of a purely scientific interest.

In the first half of the 1980s, fewer experts than homosexuals themselves began to open the discussion; feminist , humanist approaches gain importance; It was not until the second half of the 1980s that feminist and humanist ideas influenced the discourse in medicine as well.

The previously existing strategy of excluding homosexual people has now been ended in literary works by, for example, Bai Xianyong 白先勇, Guang Tai 光 泰 and Xuan Xiaofo 玄 小 佛. In the case of AIDS , it was found that it was not just American tourists who contracted AIDS, but that the disease affected 'normal' local families.

In addition, after 1987, when the state of emergency was lifted, groups outside Taiwan were able to organize and very different social movements emerged. Within this social movement it was a "new feminism", connected with the Awakening Foundation and Li Yuanzhen, that questioned firmly established paradigms of Taiwanese society: gender as an analysis category for the patriarchal structures of society played an increasing role in the public perception, and gender studies dealing with the topic of homosexuality were carried out at various universities.

With the lifting of the state of emergency and the end of censorship, independent magazines - for example from student and feminist groups - could also appear. Finally, the development of the 1990s is characterized by a pluralization of society, and a “ tongzhi discourse” shaped by social movements as well as a glocalized post-modern “ kuer discourse” are becoming dominant.

The literary world was of particular importance here and numerous works on the subject of homosexuality were published; some works received lavish awards from the mainstream press. Mention should be made here of Ling Yan (dem 煙) in 1990 with the novel “The Dumb Thrush” (失聲 ans), in 1991 Du Xiulan's (杜 修) with the novel “The unruly daughter” (蘭 逆女) and Cao Lijuan (曹麗娟) with the work “The Dance of the Girls” (童女 之 舞) and in 1996 Qiu Miaojin's (邱 妙 津) “Notes of a Crocodile” (鱷魚 手記) or Zhu Tianwen (朱天文) “Notes of an Outsider” (荒 人 手記). Finally, homosexuality was partially removed from the minority discourse: young writers such as Ji Dawei (紀大偉), Chen Xue (陳雪), Qiu Miaojin (邱 妙 津) or Hong Ling (洪凌) dealt again in postmodern magazines such as "Isle Margin" with the topic of same-sex desire, deconstructed the phenomenon and showed that there are no fixed boundaries between sex and gender , using US approaches such as queer theory ( Judith Butler ), but localizing approaches and ideas.

In late October 2003, the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) announced its plan to legalize same-sex marriage. This move would make Taiwan the first country in Asia to allow such marriages. However, so far it is nothing more than a declaration of intent. There is no timeline for legalization. On November 1, 2003 , the first lesbian and gay parade in a Chinese-speaking country was held in Taipei , the capital of Taiwan . More than 1,000 people attended, including Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou . However, many protesters wore masks to hide their identities as homosexuality is still a taboo in Taiwan. Since then, this parade has been held every autumn. On January 17, 2004, Taipei police arrested 93 gays for participating in a drug orgy. The public was shocked to learn that almost a third of those arrested were HIV positive. The police action and the disclosure of the findings and identities of some of the arrested by the authorities were strongly condemned by the Tongzhi (gay) community.

Culture

Gay pride

Taiwan Pride 2005

On November 1st, 2003, the Taiwan Pride , the first gay and lesbian parade in the Chinese-speaking world, took place in Taipei with around 1000 participants . It has been held annually since then. In the first few years, many followers wore masks for fear of social humiliation. But the parade in October 2007, in which between 10,000 and 15,000 people from various groups took part, showed with its large number of participants that tolerance and acceptance of Taiwan's society are advancing at a rapid pace. The event developed into an annual event. An estimated 80,000 people took part in the largest parade to date in October 2016.

Literature and television

Taiwan Pride 2005

Since the 1970s there have been a number of novels and literary works on the Taiwanese book market that deal with homosexuals. One of the most prominent authors is Pai Hsien-Yung , who worked with gay characters in his books; the best known of these is crystal boys . After the worldwide success of Taiwan director Ang Lee and his film Brokeback Mountain , three more gay films were produced in 2006. Twelve more films are already scheduled for the next three years.

Lately, several gay TV series and films have been produced that have attracted large audiences not only in Taiwan but also in mainland China , including the series Crystal Boys , based on the book of the same name, Pai Hsien-Yungs, and the film Formula 17 .

To date, several homosexual films and television series (including a film adaptation of Crystal Boys ) have been made, some of which have been noticed by lesbians and gays in the People's Republic of China. The film Formula 17 even became an unexpected box-office hit (largest Taiwanese film grossing in 10 years). The young director Chen's first work is set in a utopian Taipei, where heterosexuality does not seem to exist. The young protagonists struggle with their love life instead of with society.

social acceptance

An April 2006 poll found that 75 percent of Taiwanese accept homosexual relationships, while only 25 percent cannot. 6,439 adults were interviewed by the National Union of Taiwan Women's Association / Constitutional Reform Alliance .

See also

• Homosexuality in China
• Laws on homosexuality

Web links

Commons : Homosexuality in Taiwan  - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

• Blog about homosexuality in Taiwan
• Utopa Asia Taiwan (English)
• GlobalGayz.com: Gay Taiwan: Loving and Living Gay in Taiwan (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Queer.de: Arrests in Taiwan , January 19, 2004.
2. ↑ The China Post: Worker anti-discrimination bill passes ( Memento of the original of February 13, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , May 5, 2007 
3. ↑ Gay marriage amendments pass first legislative reading | Politics | FOCUS TAIWAN - CNA ENGLISH NEWS . ( focustaiwan.tw [accessed December 2, 2016]).
4. ↑ Another county in Taiwan allows registration of same-sex partnerships. (No longer available online.) China Observer, May 1, 2016, archived from the original on May 2, 2016 ; accessed on May 1, 2016 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
5. ↑ 桃園 確定 跟進！ 六 都 全 開放 同性 伴侶 戶籍 註 記 ( Taoyuan is following suit . Registration of same-sex partnerships permitted in all six cities directly under the government ). Liberty Times Net, March 7, 2016, accessed November 25, 2018 (Chinese). 
6. ↑ Queer.de: Taiwan: Constitutional Court opens marriage
7. ↑ Telegraph.cok.uk: Taiwan's top court rules in favor of gay marriage in landmark decision. The Telegraph, May 24, 2017, accessed September 15, 2018 . 
8. ↑ BILD.de: Taiwan officially recognizes same-sex couples
9. ↑ Taiwan introduces marriage for all. In: Tagesschau.de . May 17, 2019, accessed May 17, 2019 . 
10. ↑ Tagesschau.de: Taiwan introduces marriage for everyone
11. ↑ Spiegel.de: Taiwan introduces same-sex marriage
12. ^ Taiwan gay marriage: Parliament legalises same-sex unions. BBC News, May 17, 2019, accessed May 17, 2019 . 
13. ↑ Taipeitimes: We are homosecxuals! We love you! , November 2, 2003 (Retrieved May 28, 2010)
14. ^ Taipei Times, Jan. 23, 2004
15. ↑ Taipei Times: 'We are homosexuals! We love you! ' , November 2, 2003
16. ↑ Der Standard, October 29, 2016
17. ↑ Website of the Lesbian-Gay Film Days in Hamburg ( Memento of the original from April 28, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
18. ↑ Angus Reid: Global Monitor ( Memento of the original dated May 30, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , May 18, 2006 (English)