Love Without Distinction

On May 17, 2019, Taiwan's Legislative Yuan passed on its third reading the Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748, allowing two people of the same sex to establish a permanent union in marriage by law, and Taiwan thereby became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.

On the very afternoon of the vote, tens of thousands of people who had waited long gathered on Qingdao East Road outside the legislature, braving a torrential downpour, eyes fixed on the live broadcast on their phones and the big screens; in the moment the clauses passed, the crowd in the rain erupted in earth-shaking cheers and tears, strangers embraced and wept, and rainbow flags flew amid the curtain of rain.

On May 24, the day the law took effect, countless same-sex couples completed their marriage registrations at household registration offices across Taiwan, finally able to become each other's legal family in name and in truth — the end of a long road traveled over decades, soaked with countless tears and struggle.

Taiwan's LGBTQ movement can be traced to around the lifting of martial law, from the early minority voices that emerged with difficulty at society's margins, sometimes forced to hide their names, to the annual Pride march held on Taipei's streets that grew to be the largest in Asia, drawing participants from many countries to join in; generation after generation of activists, scholars, lawyers, physicians, and countless ordinary LGBTQ people and their loved ones continued to fight for the right to be treated equally and to be seen as they truly are, amid stigma, misunderstanding, and at times fierce opposition.

The turning point came in 2017, when the Grand Justices of the Judicial Yuan rendered Interpretation No. 748, holding that the Civil Code's failure to protect the freedom of marriage and equal rights of two people of the same sex was unconstitutional, and requiring the relevant authorities to complete amendments within two years, setting a constitutional-level milestone on the road to equality.

Yet the road to equality remained rugged; the results of several referendums in 2018 reflected society's deep tug-of-war and divergence among traditional values, religious conviction, and marriage equality, and once plunged countless LGBTQ people and their families into despondency. Under the multiple tensions of public opinion, constitutional interpretation, and politics, lawmakers ultimately responded to the Grand Justices' requirement within the framework of the constitutional interpretation, with a special act that genuinely protected the right to same-sex marriage while also seeking to accommodate the pluralistic voices and feelings of society. The significance of legalizing same-sex marriage far exceeds the letter of the law itself.

It established that, regardless of sex, every person enjoys the equal right to love, to unite, and to form a family; it allowed many couples long hidden — some who had not even dared to come out to their closest kin — to finally clasp each other's hands openly and make their lifelong vows before the witness and blessing of loved ones.

For society as a whole, it was a profound lesson in empathy, inclusion, and respect for difference, reminding people that true democracy lies not only in the will of the majority but also in the solemn protection of the rights of the minority. By taking this step as the first in Asia, Taiwan showed the world how a society that had passed through authoritarianism and walked toward democracy could, after fierce debate and the reconciling of differing positions, still choose to protect the basic human rights and dignity of every person through institutions.

The rain and tears woven together on Ketagalan Boulevard and Qingdao East Road that night washed away long-standing stigma and repression, and for the first time truly wrote the words 'love makes no distinction' into the law and collective memory of this island, warming those who came after for a long time to come.