Same-sex marriage in Taiwan
Same-sex marriage is currently not legal in Taiwan, although it has been the subject of public discussion since the early 2000s. Currently, some jurisdictions, including the six largest cities and nine other counties, covering 93% of the country's population, allow same-sex couples to register as partners, though the rights afforded by such registrations are less than marriage. Bills to legalise same-sex marriage are currently pending in the Legislative Yuan. If any of these bills were to pass, Taiwan would become the first country in Asia to allow same-sex marriage.
On 24 May 2017, the Constitutional Court ruled that same-sex couples have a right to marry, and gave the Legislature Yuan two years to adequately amend Taiwanese marriage laws. According to the court ruling, if amendments are not passed within two years, same-sex marriages will automatically become legal.
As of 6 June 2017, same-sex couples can legally register their partnerships in 17 of Taiwan's cities and counties that account for 93 percent of the country's population. However, the rights afforded in these partnerships are very limited; there are as many as 498 exclusive rights related to marriage that include property rights, social welfare and medical care.
On 20 May 2015, the special municipality of Kaohsiung announced a plan to allow same-sex couples to mark their partners in civil documents for reference purposes, although it would not be applicable to the healthcare sector; Taiwan LGBT Rights Advocacy, an NGO, criticized the plan as merely a measure to "make fun of" the community without having any substantive effect.
On June 2015, Taipei became the second special municipality in Taiwan to open registration for same-sex couples.
In July 2015, Taichung announced it would be joining Taipei and Kaohsiung in recognizing same-sex partnerships. This made Taichung the third special municipality to do so. Same-sex couples began to register their partnerships on 1 October 2015.
On October 2015, same-sex couples were included in Taoyuan's mass wedding ceremony despite same-sex marriage not being legal in Taiwan. This was the first time same-sex couples were able to participate in this twice-yearly event. Taipei followed suit one day later. On 28 October 2015, the Taichung City Government announced that same-sex couples would be permitted to participate in the next year's mass wedding ceremony.
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Wikipedia