Support for same-sex marriage in Taiwan rises to 54.3%: Survey

Taipei, May 15 (CNA) Support for same-sex marriage in Taiwan has risen to 54.3 percent, up 12 percentage points from seven years ago, when it became legalized, according to a survey released Friday by a non-profit civic group.

Taiwan marks the seventh anniversary of the legalization of same-sex marriage on May 24.

In a news release, the Taiwan Equality Campaign (TEC) said support for transnational same-sex marriage and joint child adoption by same-sex couples had also risen to 63 percent and 67.2 percent, respectively.

The survey also found that support for gender equality education reached a record high of 75 percent, marking the largest increase among all categories surveyed, up of 21 percentage points over the past seven years.

Meanwhile, 59.7 percent of respondents said they supported allowing female same-sex couples to have children through assisted reproduction, with support strongest among respondents aged 20-39.

Under Taiwan's Assisted Reproduction Act, access to assisted reproductive technology is currently available only to infertile heterosexual couples.

Citing broad public consensus, Taiwan's mature assisted reproduction technology, and the number of LGBTQ+ families awaiting legislation, the TEC urged the Legislative Yuan to expedite deliberations on draft amendments to the law approved by the Cabinet in December last year to ensure parenting rights are not restricted by marital status.

The TEC said the survey also included questions on workplace environment and job-seeking intentions. It found that young women had a more positive view of workplace inclusiveness and attractiveness, with 55 percent of female respondents aged 18-29 saying they would be more likely to apply for jobs at workplaces that identify as LGBTQ-friendly.

Support for LGBTQ+ individuals holding public office has increased notably since 2020, the survey found. Acceptance of LGBTQ+ lawmakers rose from 60 percent to nearly 70 percent, while opposition fell from 35.5 percent to 26.8 percent.

The TEC said that although younger generations express support for gender equality and LGBTQ+-friendly measures in opinion polls, past experiences show that they tend to mobilize strongly only when facing a perceived "common adversary" or a need to defend certain values.

The survey, commissioned by the TEC, was conducted by Trend Polls in April through telephone interviews with 1,077 adults nationwide and had a margin of error of 2.98 percentage points at a 95 percent confidence level.