Why gay-iendly Taiwan is a creative haven for LGBTQ art | CNN

Contents:

• TAIWAN GAY MARRIAGE: PARLIAMENT LEGALIS SAME-SEX UNNS
• 'HAPPILY EVER AFTER' ELUS TAIWAN, A YEAR AFTER ASIA'S FIRST GAY MARRIAG
• WHY GAY-IENDLY TAIWAN IS A CREATIVE HAVEN FOR LGBTQ ART

TAIWAN GAY MARRIAGE: PARLIAMENT LEGALIS SAME-SEX UNNS

Lawmakers Taiwan have approved a bill legalizg same-sex marriage, a landmark cisn that mak the self-led island the first place Asia to pass gay marriage legislatn.

Although the island has a large gay muny and s annual gay pri para is the biggt Asia, the issue of marriage equaly has bterly divid Taiwane society. In recent months nservative groups have mpaigned agast same-sex marriage reform, phg for a law that would see gay marriag refed as somethg closer to same-sex unns.

Wu Tzu-an, a 33-year-old gay artist om Taipei, was among the crowds outsi the parliament celebratg Friday. In 2015, veteran gay rights activist Chi Chia-wei – who has spent 30 years fightg for marriage equaly – filed a requt to the Constutnal Court askg for a lg on an article the island’s civil statg that marriage is between a man and a woman. Taiwan’s gay marriage opponents seized the opportuny to put forward a referendum askg voters whether they agreed wh same-sex marriage.

'HAPPILY EVER AFTER' ELUS TAIWAN, A YEAR AFTER ASIA'S FIRST GAY MARRIAG

In maland Cha, where homosexualy is legal but prejudic and discrimatn agast LGBT people persist unr Communist Party le, an thor of same-sex erotic fictn was sent to jail for 10 years November. In April, the ler of the ty, oil-rich kgdom of Bnei announced he would troduce ath by stong for those nvicted of gay sex.

WHY GAY-IENDLY TAIWAN IS A CREATIVE HAVEN FOR LGBTQ ART

In Indonia, clg secularism has led to epeng discrimatn agast the untry’s gay, lbian and transgenr muni.

Last year, two men acced of beg gay received 87 lash for gay sex the untry’s nservative Aceh provce. More than two dozen untri around the world allow gay marriage, acrdg to Pew Rearch. Censorship✔ No censorshipChangg Genr✖ Legal, but requir surgeryNon-bary genr regnn✖ Not legally regnizedEmployment Discrimatn✔ Sexual orientatn and genr intyHog Discrimatn✔ Sexual orientatn and genr intyMilary✖ Lbians, gays, bisexuals permted, transgenr people bannedDonatg Blood✖ Banned (5-year ferral)Conversn Therapy✔ Banned.

Public OpnIn Taiwan, public opn seems to reflect a lack of acceptance or unrstandg of the LGBTQ+ Surveys of Taiwane people would accept their child learng about LGBT-related topics school of Taiwane people accept seeg same-sex public displays of affectn of Taiwane people accept seeg heterosexual public displays of affectn of Taiwane people favor allowg same-sex upl to adopt children of Taiwane people say they have not been affected by the legalizatn of same-sex marriageHistoryHomosexual activy Taiwan? Homosexual activy Taiwan is legal. Servg openly ary Taiwan is lbians, gays, bisexuals permted, transgenr people banned.

Current statSce Jan 2002Lbians, gays, bisexuals permted, transgenr people banned Taiwan allows gay and lbian soldiers provid they mata ary disciple donatns by MSMs Taiwan? Current statSce May 2018Banned (5-year ferral) In March 2018, the Government gazetted, for a two-month public nsultatn, amendments to the Standards on Asssg Donor Suabily for Blood Donatn that clud allowg gay and bisexual men who have not had sex wh another man for five years to donate blood.

A spokperson for the Mistry of Health and Welfare said that the abstence perd would be further rced to one year the future, so as to brg the Taiwane standard le wh Wtern (fe ferral)Gay, lbian, bisexual, and other "high risk HIV" groups are banned om donatg blood Taiwan. KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Rters Foundatn) - When Taiwan beme the first place Asia to allow same-sex marriage last year, universy profsor Lois was among thoands of gay people who cheered and waved rabow flags on the streets of the pal Taipei. A year on, she and her Che partner still have no right to legally wed, like hundreds of such upl who face rtrictns over ternatnal same-sex Taiwan marked a year sce passg s historic law a regn where gay rights progrs is slow, LGBT+ rights groups have lled for a full regnn of same-sex marriage to protect upl and fai.

MISSING PIECE OF PUZZLESame-sex marriage beme legal Taiwan on May 24 last year, a week after s parliament passed a bill offerg siar protectns of marriage to gay people uld only marry foreigners om a untry where same-sex marriage is also legal, and adopt children blogilly related to at least one of ’s partner, who is om Cha where gay marriage is not regnised, had to give up her job 2017 and bee a stunt so she uld stay on the island and raise their three-year-old son. I want - my wife, my son - to be regnised as a fay, ” Lois told the Thomson Rters Foundatn by phone om seen as a bean of liberalism Asia, Taiwan beme the first place the regn to allow gay marriage, although the move faced stiff opposn and divid the self-led than 3, 500 gay upl have married sce last year, official figur show. “There are still a lot of measur that need to be adjted after the law was approved, ” she add, whout office did not reply to a requt seekg ment on lls to allow all ternatnal gay, SETBACKS IN ASIAElsewhere Asia, progrs towards gay marriage has been slow.

A urt the Philipp rejected a same-sex marriage petn last year and Hong Kong has upheld a ban on civil partnerships, although gay upl have ma small gas public hog and spoal visa rights. Japane gay upl meanwhile sued the ernment over the right to marriage last year. “We unrstand chang society take time, ” said Jennifer Lu, a reprentative for the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn said the law passed Taiwan was a breakthrough as shows gay marriage do not ntradicts “Asian valu”.

While Taiwan 2019 beme the first jurisdictn the regn to legalize same-sex marriage, the legal change stopped short of grantg full rights of adoptn to homosexual upl.

Hou Yo-yi — mayor of New Taipei and a potential KMT printial ndidate — has been reful to e ambiguo language, voicg neher direct support nor opposn to marriage equaly, or avoidg the issue a separate se, Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je, potential ndidate om the Taiwan People’s Party, stunned many gay rights activists by revealg his opposn to same-sex marriage durg a vis to the Uned Stat.

Adam* said was dangero to e out as gay his home untry and feared beg forced to an arranged marriage wh a said he was "so lucky" to wed his soulmate, Ray, Manchter and wish everyone uld marry who they love. There are more than 60 untri wh laws that crimalise same-sex sexual acts acrdg to the Internatnal Lbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Associatn, cludg Sdi Arabia. 'Authentilly myself'Ray said he had also stggled growg up gay the 1970s and 80s England, which was "tough" said his relig school "dmmed to you, 'you are gog to hell'" Adam returned home to Sdi Arabia, spe beg more than 3, 000 apart and later rtricted by the Covid-19 panmic, they kept touch daily and the romance years ago, Ray proposed on a vio ll and after succsfully applyg for a UK fiancé visa, Adam moved to Manchter December 2022.

Adam said he had been aaid to even wear lours his home untry so the first thg he did when he moved was start to "grow my mullet, got my ears pierced and booked appotments for tattoos" relled how, ntrast, one of his gay iends Sdi had been forced to marry a woman, addg: "It has ed not only his life but the life of his wife. The uple, who live London, said a "really betiful memory" was on the way home when one of their sons shouted out of the black b wdow to Trafalgar Square, "My dads jt got married" and cheered "Yay, gay marriage". Taiwan is nsired the most progrsive place Asia wh regard to gay rights.