Whilst there is of course more work to do, I am so proud of what my country has achieved with regards to LGBTQ rights over the past few decades. So basically, today, gay Taiwan has evolved to become one of the most popular LGBTQ destinations in all of Asia. And of course, we have Taipei Pride every October, which is famous for not only being the largest Pride across the whole of Asia, but also one of the largest LGBTQ events in the world. This has allowed us to develop a rich queer culture, particularly in Taipei, which has one of the best gay scenes in Asia. More recently, we became the first (and only) country in Asia to pass gay marriage laws! We also made it legal for gays to serve in the army in 2002, introduced the right to change your legal gender in 2008, and outlawed conversion therapy in 2018. During this period, Taiwan passed many anti-discrimination laws particularly in education (2004), in employment (2007) and in all other areas of business (2017). So from 1987 onwards, there was this huge push for democracy and change.Īs a result, over the past 30 years, Taiwanese society has become increasingly liberal-minded, certainly compared to most other parts of Asia. There were severe restrictions on our freedom of expression, which led to the disappearance and imprisonment of around 200,000 people. The 38 years of the Martial Law (1949-1987), was a very dark period for Taiwan. Taiwanese screenwriter and director Ang Lee directing Jake Gyllenhaal in Brokeback Mountain Why is Taiwan so gay friendly?Ī big part of this is because in the period after the Martial Law rule was lifted in 1987, Taiwan massively transformed.
Spider Lilies won the Teddy Award for best gay feature film at the 2007 Berlin International Film Festival, which was an amazing achievement for our LGBTQ community!Īnd don't forget Taiwanese director Ang Lee! Although he's not gay, the very fact that he directed a huge Oscar-winning gay movie in 2005 (Brokeback Mountain) was a big deal for us! He also made a gay Taiwanese (Oscar-nominated) movie in 1993 called “The Wedding Banquet” about a gay Chinese man who stages a sham marriage to please his parents. Other popular gay movies in Taiwan include “Formula 17” (2004) and the lesbian film, “Spider Lilies” (2007) by Zero Chou.
This has definitely helped to “normalize” us and show that we are not freaks of nature! For example, in the late 1980s, author Pai Hsien-yung published a famous gay novel called “Crystal Boys”, which was recently made into a gay TV series.
I think part of this is because, over the past 20-30 years, we see more gay characters represented in the media and on Taiwanese TV/cinema. Whilst society always has its bad eggs, I've found Taiwanese society to be very accepting.
There's always been a place I could go to hang out with other gays and make friends. Growing up, I never experienced any homophobia in Taiwan. I grew up in the 1990s and 2000s, which was a time of great change in Taiwan (see next question).
Po-Hung in full Taiwanese National Dress What was it like growing up gay in Taiwan? Po-Hung gave us the full lowdown about the gay life of Taiwan, what it's like growing up gay here and other invaluable local tips. So what is it about Taiwan that makes it so gay friendly? We met with gay Taiwanese boy Po-Hung from Kaohsiung who was also Mr Gay Taiwan 2018. Despite this, it is an incredible achievement not only for Taiwan's gay community, but also for the entire LGBTQ community across Asia. Of course the gay marriage laws of Taiwan are not without difficulties, having had quite a bumpy road to get to where they are. For example, whilst other gay friendly places in Asia like Thailand, Cambodia, Japan, Hong Kong, Nepal and the Philippines may have started discussing the implementation of gay civil union laws (if at all!), no one else has even touched the realm of recognising gay marriages. Nowhere else in Asia comes close to this achievement. In May 2019, Taiwan made history by becoming the first nation in Asia to implement gay marriages. It has long been a gay trailblazer, famous for having progressive LGBTQ laws, the largest pride in Asia and even a God devoted to homosexual love with his own temple in New Taipei City. On a continent famous for not having the most progressive LGBTQ rights, Taiwan is proudly paving the way forward. Taiwan has become one of the most gay friendly places in Asia. Gay Taiwan hunk: Po-Hung who tells us about gay Taiwan and what life is like for the Taiwanese LGBTQ community. This is our interview with the handsome former Mr.