Taiwan's gay marriage ruling raises hopes across Asia
As Taiwan moved to legalise gay marriage this week, two Indonesian men were caned for engaging in gay sex and South Korea’s military court jailed a soldier for having intercourse with another man
Taiwan’s giant step towards allowing same-sex marriage has reverberated across Asia, but the fight for equality is not over yet in a region where gay sex remains illegal in some countries.
The scale of the challenge was highlighted by this week’s caning of two Indonesian men for engaging in gay sex and by a South Korean military court’s jailing of a soldier for having intercourse with another man.
But activists are hopeful that the push for marriage rights across the region will be reinvigorated by the decision by Taiwan’s constitutional court, which paves the way for the island to become the first place in Asia to allow same-sex couples to tie the knot.
In the mainland, where two men lost a court battle to get married last year, activists expressed optimism that the cultural connections with Taiwan could help change the law on same-sex nuptials.
“Taiwan and mainland China have the same roots and culture so it suggests that Chinese society could also accept the idea of gay marriage,” said Li Yinhe, a Chinese sexologist who has pressed Beijing policymakers on the issue.
But she noted that there was no official channel for gay rights campaigners to make their voices heard.