New | Taiwan pins same-sex marriage hopes on political change

Taiwan’s presidential elections next month are expected to usher in a new political era, and many hope it will also see the island become the first Asian power to legalise same-sex marriage.

Taiwan –the host of Asia’s biggest gay pride parade – is already one of the region’s most forward-thinking societies when it comes to gay rights, and this year, three of the island’s biggest cities began allowing gay couples to register as one household.

But a move towards marriage equality has remained stagnant in parliament for more than two years and some activists say they need to look beyond the island’s two dominant political parties if they are to achieve their goal.

Staunch resistance from the ruling Kuomintang has meant a same-sex marriage bill has stalled since it was proposed in 2013 by a legislator for the main opposition Democratic Progressive Party.

READ MORE: Taiwan gay couple ‘lose faith’ and drop marriage case

With the KMT widely expected to lose January’s presidential elections to the DPP, and possibly lose control of parliament for the first time, many are hoping the new government will resurrect the legislation.