A legislative committee in the Taiwan Parliament [official website] on Monday approved a bill that would amend the Taiwan Civil Code to allow same-sex marriage. The Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee approved a change in the Code from “male and female parties” in to “two parties,” which would allow homosexual couples to be legally wed. The change was proposed by Mei-nu Yu [official profile], a ruling Democratic Progressive Party MP. If the changes to the Code are approved by the rest of Parliament, Taiwan would become the first nation in Asia to allow same-sex marriage.

In November, the Parliament began work on three distinct bills [JURIST report] in support of same-sex marriage. President Tsai Ing-wen, the first female president of Taiwan, took office in May, and has expressed a desire to allow same-sex marriage. Same-sex marriage is still an ongoing debate in many parts of the world. In November the Australian Senate rejected [JURIST report] a proposed plebiscite on same-sex marriage. In September tens of thousands of people marched [JURIST report] in Mexico in protest of same-sex marriage, a controversial topic in the country exacerbated by a proposal from embattled President Enrique Peña Nieto to recognize same-sex marriage. The Aruban legislature voted [JURIST report] in September to give official recognition to same-sex couples, giving them the right to register their unions and receive the benefits granted to other married people.