Illustration: Chen Xia/GT

Taiwan media recently announced that a proposition to legalize same-sex marriages is currently moving through its parliamentary system.



Legislators in Taiwan are currently working on three transgender bills, with one of the bills to be passed in early 2017.



If it does indeed pass, Taiwan will become the first-ever Asian city to legalize gay marriage. "It's a big step forward for the history of human rights, and it will give others a model," said a legislator who is advocating for one of the related bills.



Similarly, just on this year's World Toilet Day (November 19), Shanghai's first unisex public bathroom was officially put to use by the municipal government.



Located in a public park, the new lavatory features stalls that can be used by any gender, serving as a symbol of acceptance.



Sadly, it is still technically illegal for gays to get married in China. Just last April, a local judge hearing the country's first-ever same-sex marriage case, in Hunan Province, rejected a couple's attempt to secure the right to marry.



As much as it was seen as a loss for the Chinese LGBT community, however, the most important take-away from this case was the fact that it is the first time a Chinese court had agreed to even hear a same-sex marriage lawsuit.



Change did not come easy in Taiwan either, as it also upholds conservative Confucian values. A same-sex marriage bill was handed to their parliament in 2005 but failed to pass. In 2013, another bill managed to make its way up to the committee review stage, but was also rejected.



The Taiwanese public is divided on the issue, with support coming mostly from youth: 55 percent of the general public and 80 percent of young adults aged between 20 and 29 think same-sex marriage should be legalized.



These proportions are almost exactly same in the US, which made international headlines last year when it legislated same-sex marriage. A new survey in the Chinese mainland found that public support for same-sex marriage is slightly lower, at 45 percent.



This, however, signifies that almost half of Chinese mainland society is at the very least tolerant and open-minded about the issue despite being less exposed to gays or aware of the LGBT movement compared to other nations.



Contrary to my initial impressions of China, I now believe it is possible for Chinese authorities to eventually relax their old policies against LGBT rights, given that China made homosexuality legal in 1997, followed by declassifying gay as a mental disorder in 2001 and, in recent years, banned controversial "curing" therapies for homosexuals.



The West, ironically, remains confused and deeply divided regarding personal liberties, with right-wing movements gaining ground in Europe and conservatives winning a majority of seats in all branches of the US government in their November elections.



It would be unrealistic to expect any further progress in societal freedoms coming out of those nations.



Why shouldn't China, then, take the lead on this issue, just as it is also becoming a leader in promoting free trade and globalization?



By pushing forward legislative progress on LGBT issues and publicizing these improvements to the public, China's new image as a gender-equal and gay-friendly nation would significantly boost the Middle Kingdom's international soft power.



The opinions expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Global Times.