"I believe the influence will be quite deep, and we'll see if activists in other countries can push their governments, give the governments more pressure," said Chien Chih-chieh, secretary general of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights. – forbes.com
We are overjoyed that another nation has had the strength to realize that marriage equality should exist. Taiwan is the first nation in Asia to say that same-sex marriage is legal.
There will definitely be celebrations for days, weeks, months, and years to come as LGB couples exercise the new equality. We do not wish to overlook this great occurrence for we are overjoyed, but our excitement is bubbling over and we are thinking about who is next!
Forbes Magazine takes a look at the rest of Asia to try to predict which nation will say yes to marriage equality.
One fact Forbes mentioned was that Vietnam legalized same-sex marriage in 2015 but never followed up with enforcement. Most refer to marriage equality in Viet Nam as "while same–sex marriages have yet to be afforded equal rights, ceremonies are no longer illegal." It would seem that Viet Nam would just need to flip a much smaller pro-LGBT switch than any other Asian nation to make marriage equality true and protected. But Forbes does not say Viet Nam is one of the top two nations to be next.
Authoritarian countries are unlikely to legalize same-sex marriage in full because they restrict civic activism that would give rise to an LGBT advocacy movement. Those advocates often press governments to allow same-sex marriage, if you look at the 20 countries worldwide that are OK with it now. Authoritarian states in Asia mean China, Laos, North Korea and probably Singapore. Some of those places are socially conservative anyway. – Forbes Magazine
Forbes also looked at strong Islamic nations like Indonesia and Malaysia. Even though they are democratic, there is too much influence from Islamic laws on these two nations and other nations across Asian and the Middle East for them to consider marriage equality. Christian strongholds of South Korea (25% of the nation is Catholic) and the Philippines are not expected to open up to equality any time soon.
Related Post: Taiwan Just Legalized Same-Sex Marriage
It has to be Japan next, no? Forbes states that Japan lacks a multicultural component of its democracy and therefore does not waver form the core too often when it comes to politics. Taiwan was leaps and bounds above other nations like Japan and China because they embraced differences to separate themselves from other nations.
There was no mention of Russia or any Middle East nation directly in the Forbes report.
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Forbes believes that Thailand and maybe Cambodia will be next to pass marriage equality.
Thailand once stood a chance of beating Taiwan as the first place in Asia with a full-blown same-sex marriage law and someday it might take up the cause again. Thailand passed the Gender Equality Act in 2015 to punish discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation, the news website says. Also there was legislation drafted five years ago to legalize marriage equality. There was no organized opposition surfaced, but it was not pushed forward because it was feared that the parliament full of older individuals was too conservative to pass the law. The bill went on hold due to political instability, but could resurface.
Another likely spot is Thailand’s neighbor Cambodia. The country in 2011 repealed a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage, and news reports say influential authorities including the late king Norodom Sihanouk have favored a follow-up law. Still, no one in the Cambodian government has made the bold move. – Forbes Magazine
Will there be pro-LGBT dominoes falling across Asia soon? If there is one, how much would it take for there to me three … or more?
Progress is a wonderful thing.
Celebrate loud Taiwan. Your cheers of success and achievement may spread.
h/t: Forbes Magazine