A government survey revealed that 62.6% of the Taiwanese population believed that same-sex couples should have the right to marry legally, representing a significant rise of 25.2% since 2018 prior to the legalization of same-sex marriage, according to a statement by the Executive Yuan, the executive branch of Taiwan’s government.
Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage on May 24, 2019, following the enactment of the Act for Implementation of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748. Last week, the legislature approved an amendment to the special law, permitting same-sex couples to jointly adopt children to whom neither spouse is related.
In the survey by the Department of Gender Equality under the Executive Yuan, 74.1% of respondents agreed that “same-sex couples should have the right to adopt children,” marking a 3.1% increase from 2022 and a significant rise of 20.3% since 2018.
Friendliness towards the transgender community has been growing, said the Executive Yuan in the statement. In the survey, 77.3% of respondents agreed that “transgender individuals should be able to choose their preferred attire for studying at school or working in the workplace comfortably.” 91.4% said that “they can work alongside transgender individuals as colleagues.”
In the same survey, 54.8% of respondents agreed that transgender and intersex people should be given a third gender option on their identification cards, representing a 5.9% rise from 2022. 46.5% of respondents believed that transgender people should be allowed change their gender on identification cards without undergoing gender reassignment surgery, marking a significant increase of 17.2% from last year.
Traditional gender roles have also continued to loosen, said the Department of Gender Equality. The survey revealed that 42.6% of respondents disagreed with the statement, “women are more suitable than men for taking care of infants and young children,” up from 37.2% in 2022.
For the first time this year, opinions were surveyed regarding men applying for parental leave and daughters inheriting property upon marriage. 84% of the respondents supported men applying for parental leave, and 95.2% of respondents supported daughters having the right to inherit property upon marriage.
The target population of the survey was the adult population aged 20 and above in Taiwan. It was conducted through random sampling via telephone interviews from April 27 to 29 in 2023. A total of 1,076 valid responses were obtained.
READ NEXT: Taiwan Approves Adoption Rights for Same-Sex Couples
TNL Editor: Bryan Chou (@thenewslensintl)
If you enjoyed this article and want to receive more story updates in your news feed, please be sure to follow our Facebook.
