The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the Republic of China (Taiwan) are regarded as some of the most comprehensive of those in Asia. Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal, and same-sex marriage was legalized on 24 May 2019, following a Constitutional Court ruling in May 2017. Same-sex couples are able to jointly adopt children since 2023. Discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender characteristics in education has been banned nationwide since 2004. With regard to employment, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation has also been prohibited by law since 2007.
The Executive Yuan first proposed the legal recognition of same-sex marriage in 2003; however, the bill received strong opposition at that time and was not voted on in the Legislative Yuan. 14 years later on 24 May 2017, the Judicial Yuan ruled that the existing marriage law was unconstitutional, and that same-sex couples should gain the right to marry. The court gave the Legislative Yuan a maximum of two years to either amend existing laws or enact laws to provide legal recognition of same-sex marriage. According to the court ruling, if it failed to do so by 24 May 2019, same-sex marriage would automatically become legal for the first time in Asia.
In November 2018, the Taiwanese electorate rejected same-sex marriage. In response, the government confirmed it would not amend the Civil Code but would instead prepare a separate law for same-sex couples. Following the same-sex marriage referendum, suicide hotlines reported a 40% surge in calls from LGBT individuals, particularly adolescents and young adults.
On 20 February 2019, a draft bill was published that would allow same-sex couples to establish a "permanent union of intimate and exclusive nature for the purpose of living a common life." The Executive Yuan passed it the following day, sending it to the Legislative Yuan for fast-tracked review. The bill was passed on 17 May, and President Tsai Ing-wen signed it on 22 May, with the law taking effect on 24 May 2019. In 2023, same-sex couples were granted the right to adopt. In 2024, cross-strait couples were also granted the right to marry, subject to the same complex legal procedures as heterosexual couples.
The Taiwanese Civil Code defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, and still contains many gender-specific terms like "husband and wife". The law governing assisted reproduction limits access to ART, including IVF, to legally married heterosexual couples and specifically excludes same-sex female couples and single women.
The first Taiwan Pride was held in Taipei in 2003. By 2015, when the event was attended by 80,000 participants, it had become the second-largest LGBT pride in Asia. By 2019, attendance had grown to 170,000 participants. In 2022, Taiwan withdrew from hosting WorldPride 2025 due to dissatisfaction with the proposed event name, 'WorldPride Kaohsiung,' which was considered offensive by both the Taiwanese public and the government. As a result, the event was relocated to Washington, D.C., where it successfully took place under the name 'WorldPride Washington, D.C.' in June 2025.
History of LGBT rights in Taiwan
Qing dynasty
Taiwan came under the control of the Qing in 1683 and its courts began to refer to the term ji jian (, sodomy) to apply to homosexual anal intercourse. Society began to emphasise strict obedience to the social order, which referred to a relationship between husband and wife. In 1740, an anti-homosexual decree was promulgated, defining voluntarily homosexual intercourse between adults as illegal. Though there were no records on the effectiveness of this decree, it was the first time homosexuality had been subject to legal proscription in China. The punishment, which included a month in prison and 100 heavy blows with heavy bamboo, was actually the lightest punishment which existed in the Qing legal system.
Japanese colonial rule When Taiwan came under the Japanese rule in 1895, same-sex practices continued; however, there was a growing animosity towards these practices during the Meiji era. The practice of Nanshoku began to die out after the Russo-Japanese War. Opposition to homosexuality did not become firmly established in Japan until the 19th and 20th centuries, through the Westernization efforts of the Empire of Japan, although it was only criminalized between 1872 and 1881.Furukawa, Makoto. The Changing Nature of Sexuality: The Three Codes Framing Homosexuality in Modern Japan. pp. 99, 100, 108, 112.
Republic of China Sodomy was decriminalized when Republic of China took over Taiwan after World War II, implementing the 1935 criminal code. The explicit prohibitions of "consenting ji jian" were abolished around 1912 under provisional criminal code, when the Republic of China was established. During the martial law period, LGBT people were often harassed and detained under general public order laws as part of the Temporary Provisions against the Communist Rebellion. These public order laws and constitutional temporary provisions were repealed during the transition to democracy in 1991.
Laws regarding same-sex sexual activity
Private and consensual sexual activity between adults of the same sex is legal in Taiwan. The criminal code contained no provisions prohibiting consensual same-sex sexual activity between adults. The age of consent is 16 regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity.
Constitutional rights The Constitution of the Republic of China does not expressly mention sexual orientation or gender identity; however, the Constitutional Court ruling on same-sex marriage in 2017 (i.e. Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748), based on the following two articles of the Constitution, has confirmed the following constitutional protections for LGBTQ people:
Article 7 of the Constitution states that "all citizens of the Republic of China, irrespective of sex, religion, race, class, or party affiliation, shall be equal before the law". In the constitutional interpretation issued on 24 May 2017, the Constitutional Court reasoned that the prohibited grounds of discrimination listed in the Article are "illustrative, rather than exhaustive", so the right to equal protection applies to other classifications "such as disability or sexual orientation".
Article 22 of the Constitution stipulates that "all other freedoms and rights of the people that are not detrimental to social order or public welfare shall be guaranteed under the Constitution". The Grand Justices ruled on 24 May 2017 that the freedom of marriage guaranteed by the Article applies to persons of all sexual orientations.
According to Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 185, "the interpretations of the Judicial Yuan shall be binding upon every institution and person in the country".
Recognition of same-sex relationships
In October 2003, the Executive Yuan proposed legislation granting the right to marry and adopt to same-sex couples, but it faced bipartisan opposition from members of both the Cabinet (formed by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party, DPP) and the Legislative Yuan (controlled by the Kuomintang-led Pan-blue coalition) and stalled, and thus not voted on.
In 2011, aiming to promote awareness about same-sex marriage, about 80 lesbian couples held Taiwan's then biggest same-sex wedding party, attracting about 1,000 friends, relatives and curious onlookers. In 2012, the first same-sex Buddhist wedding was held for Fish Huang and her partner You Ya-ting, with Buddhist master Shih Chao-hui presiding over the ritual. In 2013, Chen Ching-hsueh and Kao Chih-Wei, the second Taiwanese same-sex couple to wed publicly, dropped a prolonged fight to have their marriage legally recognized, citing intense social pressure. Later that year, lifelong gay activist Chi Chia-wei picked up Chen and Kao's fight to have same-sex marriage recognized, presenting his case in the Taipei High Administrative Court for the first time.
On 22 December 2014, a proposed amendment to the Civil Code which would have legalized same-sex marriage was due to go under review by the Judiciary Committee of the Legislative Yuan. If the amendment had passed the committee stage, it would then have been voted on at the plenary session of the Legislative Yuan in 2015. The amendment included replacing the current articles regarding marriage in the Civil Code with gender-neutral terms, effectively recognizing same-sex marriage. It would have also allowed same-sex couples to adopt children. Yu Mei-nu of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) had expressed support for the amendment, together with more than 20 other DPP lawmakers as well as two from the Taiwan Solidarity Union and one each from the ruling party Kuomintang (KMT) and the People First Party. Taiwan would have become the first Asian state (and first non-UN recognized entity) to legally recognize same-sex marriage if the Civil Code had been amended. However, the bill stalled, and the attempt officially failed in January 2016 as the Eighth Legislative Yuan ended.
In November 2015, around two months before the general election, presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen announced her support for same-sex marriage. In July 2016, several lawmakers of the Ninth Legislative Yuan announced that they would introduce a same-sex marriage bill in Parliament by the end of the year. In October, two same-sex marriage bills were introduced to the Legislative Yuan. On 16 October 2016, Jacques Picoux, who worked at the National Taiwan University, died after falling from the tenth floor of his Taipei apartment block; friends believed he had taken his own life due to lack of same-sex marriage rights, and his death led to increased pressure on the government to legalize same-sex marriage.
Registration of same-sex couples Prior to 24 May 2019, when Taiwan legalised same-sex marriage, more than 80% of the population lived in jurisdictions where they could administratively register same-sex relationships. However, per the Department of Household Registration, same-sex partnership registrations can no longer be entered into by same-sex couples where one or both parties are Taiwanese citizens. Couples that entered into same-sex partnerships prior to the legalisation of same-sex marriage have the option of retaining their registration status or amending their partnership to marriage.
In May 2015, the special municipality of Kaohsiung announced a plan to allow same-sex couples to apply for a remark of their partnership on the computerized household register, largely for reference only. It would be of little use when a person wishes to grant consent to surgery on the partner's behalf at hospitals, for instance. Taiwan LGBT Rights Advocacy, an NGO, criticized the plan as merely a measure to "make fun of" the community without having any substantive effect.