Same-sex couples find a haven in Taiwan
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A little Chinese boy watched Taiwanese shows every night before he went to sleep.
They speak the same language as he does, but it is a different world — freer, more diverse. It was a world he craved.
“As a minority growing up in China, this is the real Chinese culture I dream about,” said Light, a Chinese man who married his Taiwanese partner Eason in 2025.
The couple has been married for less than a year and describes their relationship as love at first sight. But Eason now faces the risk of being forced out of Taiwan, this safety haven, as tensions between his homeland and the island steadily escalate.
Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage in 2019, making it the first Asian country to do so. Compared to other cross-national couples, Taiwan, with less of a language barrier, attracted more same-sex couples from China, who may have felt more repressed in their home country.
Some dreamed of staying in Taiwan permanently, but now face challenges as the Taiwanese government weighs national security concerns, fearing that Beijing is sending undercover agents to the island.
Those anxieties hardened into policy after a series of incidents involving couples like Light and Eason. In 2025, three Chinese migrants living in Taiwan, all married to Taiwanese men, publicly supported the Chinese government using force to reunify the island, prompting Taiwanese authorities to take hard actions against them. The Taiwanese government accused them of violating immigration law and deported them.
Many Taiwanese people praised the government’s action, but some questioned if it was a violation of freedom of speech. The public discussion became intense, creating strong resentment in society, especially towards Chinese migrants. If Taiwan limits access for the Chinese minorities coming in, they could risk losing one of the most critical safe spaces in the Chinese-speaking world.
This is a delicate line that democratic countries must walk — balancing human rights obligations and national security.
In December 2024, Light met Eason on Tinder and sparks immediately flew, but
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