As Taiwan approaches the one-year anniversary of its legalization of same-sex marriage on May 24, the results of a survey released yesterday showed that nearly 93 percent of Taiwanese say that the policy has had no effect on them.
Equal Love Taiwan — a coalition of five LGBT rights organizations — announced at a news conference the results of the survey it conducted on the Taiwanese public’s attitude toward a range of issues affecting the LGBT community.
The survey found that 92.8 percent of respondents had not been affected by the legalization of same-sex marriage, while 3.7 percent cited negative effects, 1.8 percent cited positive effects and 1.7 percent had no opinion on the matter.
Photo: CNA
In terms of the policy’s effects on Taiwanese society, 50.1 percent said that there had been no effect, while 28.4 percent said that the effect was negative, while 11.9 percent said that it was positive and 9.6 percent expressed no opinion.
The survey also revealed relatively mixed opinions on issues relating to children.
A total of 56.8 percent of respondents said that they favored allowing same-sex couples to adopt children, compared with 38.4 against, but 50.1 percent were opposed to allowing them to have children using artificial reproductive technologies, while 42.1 percent were in favor.
On the issue of social acceptance, more than 65 percent of those surveyed said they could accept learning that a family member, classmate or coworker identified as homosexual.
However, 49.2 percent said that they could accept learning that their own child was gay, while 47.3 percent said that it would be “difficult to accept.”
Asked about public displays of affection, 74.1 percent of respondents said that they could accept seeing heterosexual couples kiss in public, compared with only 48.2 percent for same-sex couples.
The survey also found that 53 percent of the respondents would accept their child learning about LGBT-related topics in school, even though a November 2018 referendum on including LGBT education in Taiwan’s elementary and junior-high school curricula was defeated by a 66 percent to 34 percent margin.
The survey results came nearly one year after Taiwan became the first nation in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on May 24 last year.
Although LGBT rights advocates welcomed the passage of the Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 (司法院釋字第748號解釋施行法), they have also criticized it for failing to provide equal adoption rights and for not recognizing marriages to foreigners whose countries do not allow same-sex marriage.
Meanwhile, same-sex marriage opponents have said that the policy lacks popular support, citing the results of a November 2018 referendum in which voters chose to uphold the concept of marriage as being between a man and a woman.
The Equal Love Taiwan survey was conducted by telephone from April 29 to May 2 and collected 1,086 valid responses from people aged 18 and older. It has a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS