Last May, Taiwan’s top court ruled that preventing same-sex marriage was unconstitutional. It gave the government two years to either amend current laws or introduce new legislation to bring about marriage equality. The landmark decision paved the way for the island to become the first country in Asia to legalise gay marriage. But a year down the line, progress has stalled.

An attempt to derail the move in August by anti-gay marriage group Happiness of the Next Generation Alliance stymied efforts to push through legislation. With pressure mounting as the two-year mark draws closer, what challenges lie ahead in the campaign for marriage equality?

Last Tuesday, three referendum proposals put forward by a coalition of conservative groups advocating “family values” were approved by Taiwan’s Central Election Commission (CEC). The referendums aim to push back against marriage equality and same-sex education in schools nationwide, which has been mandatory since the Gender Equity Education Act was passed in 2004. In Taiwan, the results of a referendum are bound by law.

As it stands, three out of the seven referendums scheduled for November 24 – the day of the local elections – relate to same-sex marriage. The questions include:

“Do you agree that Civil Code regulations should restrict marriage to being between a man and a woman?”;
“Do you agree to types of unions, other than those stated in the marriage regulations in the Civil Code, to protect the rights of same-sex couples who live together permanently?”; and
“Do you agree that the Ministry of Education and individual schools should not teach homosexual-related education, as detailed under the Enforcement Rules for the Gender Equity Education Act, in elementary and middle-level schools?”

LGBT+ rights groups, however, have said that the referendum proposals infringe upon their right to the freedom of marriage, as outlined by the court. A referendum could, in turn, result in a separate law that fails to deliver what rights group consider true equality.

Last Friday, two referendum proposals put forward by pro-marriage equality groups passed the minimum 281,745 threshold for signatures required by the CEC. They include:

“Do you agree that gender equity education as defined in ‘the Gender Equity Education Act’ should be taught at all stages of the national curriculum and that such education should cover courses on emotional education, sex education and gay and lesbian education?”; and
“Do you agree that the Civil Code marriage regulations should be used to guarantee the rights of same-sex couples to get married?”