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Explainer | Explained: gay rights, LGBTQ and same-sex marriage in Asia
- Taiwan and Australia are beacons of progress for the region’s LGBTQ community and India’s improving – but Hong Kong, not so much
- And critics say Indonesia and Malaysia are going backwards
Reading Time:4 minutes
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LGBTQ activists have made significant progress in the Asia-Pacific in recent years but only a minority of countries recognise same-sex unions. Homosexuality remains illegal in some countries where same-sex intercourse can be punished by fines, caning or prison sentences.
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Even as LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) rights are increasingly recognised in the region, the community still faces discrimination and stigma in societies that promote traditional family units.
New Zealand and Australia are the only countries in the Asia-Pacific to have legalised same-sex marriage: they did so in August 2013 and December 2017, respectively.
In May 2017, Taiwan’s constitutional court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to legally marry and set a two-year deadline for the government to enact legislation enabling them to do so. If the government fails to amend existing laws or pass new ones, same-sex couples will automatically be able to register their marriage under current law.
However, in November 2018, the self-ruled island’s reputation as Asia’s LGBTQ rights beacon was dealt a blow as voters rejected same-sex marriage in a series of referendums.
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Taiwan’s government submitted a draft bill in February that would grant same-sex couples similar legal protections for marriage as heterosexual ones. If the bill is passed, it will be Asia’s first same-sex marriage law.
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