The Judicial Yuan, Taiwan’s highest court, ruled that restricting marriage to only a man and a women was unconstitutional, ruling in favor of marriage equality—making history history as the first Asian country to vote in favor of same-sex marriage. The justices demanded that current laws be amended within 2 years to allow for same-sex marriage, in the event laws have not changed in that timeframe, couples will be able to register their marriage anyway.

Jean Chong, OutRight Action International’s Program Field Coordinator, reflected on how this decision might impact the wider Asian region saying:

“The historic ruling in Taiwan paves the way for other Asian countries to follow suit. It says you can be Asian, be valued for who you are and who you love, and be on the right side of history. Taiwan might just start a positive domino effect where we will see other countries like Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand following in these footsteps.”

At this stage, it is unclear if the country’s civil law will be changed or whether a new law will be enacted to allow for same-sex couples to marry. Activists in the country have been advocating for a change in the civil code.