LGBT Rights in Taiwan—The Interaction Between Movements and the Law

On 24 May 2017, the world was impressed by the decision made by the Justices of the Constitutional Court in Taiwan regarding the constitutionality of the legal ban on same-sex marriages. The decision of the Constitutional Court concludes that denying the marriage of two persons of the same-sex violates both their right to equality and the constitutional right to marry. Although many factors such as Taiwan’s robust democracy, judicial activism, and commitment to constitutionalism may have contributed to this landmark judicial triumph, the existence of the most vibrant LGBT communities in its civil society must have paved the way for the progressive judicial and legislative atmosphere that finally led to this outcome. The constitutional and legal success in LGBT rights protection in Taiwan could not have been achieved without the long-term efforts made by LGBT activism. It is essential to determine how the LGBT rights movement in Taiwan affected and expedited the changes in legislation regarding LGBT rights. This chapter explores the development of LGBT rights in Taiwan from the perspective of the interaction between the LGBT rights movements and legislation. The discussion covers specific yet important issues, such as the destigmatization of same-sex sexual behavior, anti-discrimination based on sexual orientation and sexual identity in both education and employment, recognition of same-sex families, and the right to change legal gender identity, which are relevant concerns for human rights observers.

本文探讨了台湾LGBT权利运动如何影响并推动了LGBT权利立法的变革。台湾的LGBT权利运动可追溯至30多年前戒严时期结束，早期的同性恋组织（如1990年成立的“我们之间”）致力于消除社会对LGBT群体的污名化，并在1993年首次在立法院公听会上提出同性恋者的平等权利诉求。尽管2003年《人权基本法》草案曾提出尊重同性恋者权利并允许其组建家庭和收养子女，但因争议过大未能进入立法程序。2017年，台湾司法院释字第748号裁定禁止同性婚姻违宪，要求立法机关在两年内修法或制定新法，最终使台湾成为亚洲首个同性婚姻合法化的地区。本文从LGBT权利运动与立法互动的视角，分析了台湾LGBT权利的发展历程及其对立法变革的影响。

本研究通过分析台湾LGBT权益运动与法律改革的互动，探讨LGBT权利的发展过程。研究回溯自1980年代末解严以来的运动历程，重点考察关键的社会运动时刻、公共倡导行动及相关立法尝试，分析公民社会在推动台湾LGBT平权法律进程中的作用。

本研究探讨台湾LGBT权利的发展过程，分析LGBT运动如何推动法律进步，同时面临的挑战。研究指出，台湾因其积极的LGBT权利运动成为亚洲最进步的国家之一，但近年来也经历了反LGBT权利回潮，宗教及保守势力通过请愿和虚假信息动员公众，阻碍LGBT权利的进一步发展。尽管2017年婚姻平权裁决取得突破，但政府在社会对立下保持谨慎，未来LGBT权利的推进仍充满不确定性。