Human Rights and Gender Equality

30-second overview: Taiwan has evolved from human rights violations under authoritarian rule to become a leading country in human rights protection in Asia. Through transitional justice to address the legacy of authoritarianism, the advancement of gender equality legislation, and the achievement of milestones such as the legalization of same-sex marriage, Taiwan has become an important benchmark for democratic and human rights values in Asia.

Taiwan's human rights development has gone through three stages: authoritarian repression, democratic transition, and rights protection. From the traumatic memories of the February 28 Incident and the White Terror, to the gradual establishment of human rights protection mechanisms after the lifting of martial law, to recent breakthroughs such as the promotion of transitional justice and the legalization of same-sex marriage. In 2009, Taiwan incorporated the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) into domestic law, establishing a legal framework grounded in international human rights standards.¹

Human Rights Violations During the Authoritarian Period

The 1947 February 28 Incident caused tens of thousands of casualties, and the subsequent thirty-eight years of martial law (1949–1987) constituted the most profound trauma in Taiwan's modern human rights history. During the White Terror period, political dissidents faced unjust trials, torture, execution, or long-term imprisonment. Political cases such as the Lei Zhen case and the Kaohsiung Incident (1979) became representative symbols of authoritarian rule.²

Under the martial law regime, basic freedoms such as assembly and association, speech and publication, and freedom of movement and residence were all restricted. Military tribunals were extended to civilians, undermining judicial independence; cultural censorship was used to control social thought, creating a "chilling effect."

After the lifting of martial law (1987), the work of redressing wrongful convictions proceeded gradually. The "Compensation Act for Wrongful Trials on Charges of Sedition and Espionage During the Martial Law Period" provided compensation to victims, and oral history projects and archival access efforts unfolded over the following decades. This memory work formed the material foundation for later transitional justice.

Transitional Justice Process

The 2017 "Transitional Justice Act" established the legal foundation, and in 2018 the Transitional Justice Commission (TJC) formally began operations, responsible for truth investigations, archival organization, legal review, and the recovery of party assets improperly obtained during the authoritarian period.

Regarding the removal of authoritarian symbols, statues of authoritarian rulers were gradually taken down, and former authoritarian sites were transformed into human rights education venues. The White Terror Jing-Mei Memorial Park and the Green Island Human Rights Culture Park are representative examples.

In terms of institutional development, the National Human Rights Commission was established within the Control Yuan, meeting the "Paris Principles" standard for an independent body to monitor human rights conditions. Taiwan's transitional justice path has provided a referenceable practical case for other democratizing countries in Asia.³

Gender Equality and Same-Sex Marriage

In terms of gender equality legislation, the "Gender Equality in Employment Act" guarantees workplace gender equality, the "Gender Equity Education Act" promotes campus gender equity education, and the "Sexual Harassment Prevention Act" establishes prevention mechanisms. The women's quota system has significantly increased women's political participation, and the proportion of female legislators in Taiwan has long ranked among the highest in Asia.

The legalization of same-sex marriage is Taiwan's most internationally watched human rights advancement in recent years. On May 24, 2017, Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748 confirmed that the existing Civil Code's failure to guarantee same-sex marriage violated constitutional equality rights, requiring relevant legislation to be completed within two years. The referendum proposals on November 24, 2028 (Proposals 10, 11, 12, 14, and 15) revealed clear societal division: Proposal 10 (marriage limited to one man and one woman) received 7.65 million votes in favor and 2.90 million against; Proposal 14 (Civil Code guaranteeing same-sex marriage) received 3.38 million votes in favor and 6.95 million against. These results showed that the anti-same-sex-marriage side held a clear majority in the referendum. The Legislative Yuan ultimately responded by enacting a separate special law, passing the "Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748" on May 17, 2019, making Taiwan the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.⁴

Conservative groups such as the Taiwan Alliance for the Protection of Families and the Stability of Power mobilized parents and religious communities before and after the referendum, reflecting that internal tensions in Taiwanese society on gender issues did not disappear with the completion of legislation. In January 2023, the Legislative Yuan amended the Enforcement Act to allow same-sex spouses to jointly adopt non-biological children, filling a previous legal gap.

On May 29, 2020, Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 791 declared Article 239 of the Criminal Code (the adultery provision) unconstitutional and immediately void, removing gendered regulation of individual sexual autonomy from the criminal law (in judicial practice, the adultery provision had been disproportionately applied against women), marking a key milestone in the evolution of gender equality legislation.

2023 #MeToo and the Amendment of the Three Gender Equity Laws

From May to June 2023, Taiwan experienced a wave of the #MeToo movement, beginning with accusations of sexual harassment by a Democratic Progressive Party staff member and rapidly spreading to politics, academia, media, and the arts, dubbed "Taiwan's #MeToo." The events prompted the Legislative Yuan to pass sweeping amendments to the Gender Equality in Employment Act, the Gender Equity Education Act, and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (collectively known as the "Three Gender Equity Laws") on July 31, 2023, strengthening the handling responsibilities of employers and schools, increasing penalties, and introducing third-party independent investigation mechanisms.⁵

The amendments to the Three Gender Equity Laws also addressed the long-criticized problem of "non-independent handling mechanisms" — in the past, sexual harassment cases were mostly self-investigated and self-concluded by the institution to which the perpetrator belonged. The new law mandates external committee members and extends the complaint filing period, representing a structural breakthrough in Taiwan's gender equality legal framework.

Transgender Rights and Internal Tensions

The controversy over gender marker change without surgery is one of the most contentious areas of gender equality issues in Taiwan in recent years. In the 2021 "Xiao E case," the Taipei High Administrative Court ruled that the Ministry of Health and Welfare's administrative letter requiring sex-reassignment surgery for gender marker changes was unconstitutional, marking the first time Taiwan's judiciary recognized the legal possibility of "gender marker change without surgery." This ruling triggered divisions within feminism: the transgender movement advocates for gender identity self-determination, while some radical feminists (known as TERFs, Trans-Exclusionary Radical Feminists) express concerns about the impact on women-only spaces (restrooms, locker rooms, sports competitions, shelters). This tension has yet to reach social consensus, and the Executive Yuan has not yet issued comprehensive gender marker change standards.⁶

The 2018 TJC "Eastern Factory" Incident

In September 2018, recordings from an internal meeting of the Transitional Justice Commission were leaked, in which Deputy Chairperson Chang Tien-chin referenced "establishing an Eastern Factory" (a historical reference to a secret police apparatus) and discussed the strategic use of transitional justice investigations targeting a specific candidate (Hou You-yi), raising public doubts about the TJC's political neutrality. Chang resigned and the TJC conducted an internal investigation, but the incident severely damaged the TJC's credibility and became a negative reference case for the subsequent advancement of transitional justice work.⁷

Unfinished Agendas

Regarding indigenous peoples, the "Indigenous Peoples Basic Law" establishes collective rights and promotes the delineation of traditional territories and language revitalization, but disputes over traditional territories and the practice of self-governance are still ongoing. While the basic labor conditions of migrant workers are protected, the brokerage fee system and room for improvement in migrant workers' personal freedom remain concerns.

Regarding children, the "Children and Youth Welfare and Rights Protection Act" establishes a mandatory reporting mechanism and prohibits corporal punishment by law. Regarding persons with disabilities, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) has been incorporated into domestic law through an enforcement act, and the construction of barrier-free environments is still underway.

In terms of international participation, Taiwan's special sovereign status prevents it from formally joining United Nations human rights mechanisms, but it participates in international human rights discussions through civil society channels. The domestic implementation of CEDAW (Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women) has been recognized by international human rights organizations, and Freedom House rates Taiwan as a "Free" country.

References

Further Reading

• Transitional Justice Commission — Taiwan's official transitional justice body
• Covenants Watch — Monitoring the implementation of international human rights covenants in Taiwan