A Study Of LGBT Movement And Legalisation Of Same-sex Marriage In Taiwan Through The Perspective Of Political Opportunity Structure

In recent years,LGBT movement in Taiwan which calls for the legalisation of same-sex marriage has drawn extensive attention.For over three decades,campaigners have argued that legal changes should be made through legislative or judicial approaches.Proposal promoting the legalisation of same-sex marriage was submitted by legislator in The Legislative Yuan in 2006?2013 and 2016.And LGBT groups appealed for constitutional explanation by grand judge in 1998 and 2015.However,these proposals and appellation were not officially responded until in 2017 when the grand judge ruled that the civil law denying same-sex marriage rights was unconstitutional,which put same-sex marriage on its final stage towards victory.This historic event was made possible by the changing political situations in Taiwan.This paper,from the perspective of the Political opportunity structure,argued that the triumph of same-sex marriage campaign in Taiwan lies in the political rivalry between KMT and DPP,the disagreement among elite members of legislator and the appearance of allies within the establishment,which contributed to the increase of political opportunity for legalising same-sex marriage.These advantages were used by LGBT campaigners to amass more allies and resources,and to achieve higher level of mobilisation.The author argued that even after the legalisation of same-sex marriage,this dispute will continue to influence Taiwan politics and laws.