The Washington Post
Date: October 31, 2016
By: Max Bearak

More than 4 billion people live in Asia. But not one of them lives in a country where

Supporters of the LGBT community take part in the 14th annual LGBT pride march in Taipei, Taiwan, on Saturday. (Ritchie B. Tongo/European Pressphoto Agency)

people can get married regardless of their sexual orientation. LGBT rights supporters have long looked to liberal Taiwan to change that, and numerous recent developments signal that the country may step up.

On Saturday, more than 80,000 people took to the streets of Taiwan’s capital, Taipei, as part of the city’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender pride parade, according to numbers provided by organizers. Attendees described the event as charged with an unprecedented atmosphere of hope.

In October, lawmakers from Taiwan’s new ruling party, the Democratic Progressive Party, introduced a bill that would eliminate gender from the national constitution’s definition of marriage, opening it to any two people. Taiwan’s new president, Tsai Ing-wen, has vocally supported marriage equality in the past, and recent polls show that almost three-quarters of the Taiwanese people favor marriage equality.    [FULL  STORY]