Introduction of Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights

About Us

Founded in 2009 and officially registered in 2012, The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) is a human rights organization advocating for legal and policy reforms on gender and sexuality issues. TAPCPR's mission is to end societal oppression brought about by the gender binary, such that people of different genders, sexual orientations, and gender identities may achieve equal status.

TAPCPR was initially founded to promote equal family formation rights. We proposed a three-part legislative proposal for diverse family formation, which included marriage equality, a civil partnership system, and a multi-person household family system. In 2017, our litigation efforts brought about Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748, which led to Taiwan becoming the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019. In 2023 after four years of continued litigation, Taiwan approved transnational same-sex marriage recognition to citizens of all countries except China. In addition to marriage equality advocacy, TAPCPR continues to fight for transgender rights through impact litigation, winning transgender plaintiff Xiao E's case for changing her legal gender without providing proof of surgery, as well as multiple workplace discrimination cases involving other transgender plaintiffs.  

Key Focus Areas of the Alliance:

➊ Cross-Strait Same-Sex Marriage: Through impact litigation, we continue to demand the opening up of marriage registration for same-sex couples across Taiwan and China. We also actively cooperate with the government to provide aid on individual cases. 

➋ Transgender Rights: Through litigation and lobbying, we demand the abolition of the compulsory surgery requirement for changing one's legal gender. Furthermore, we continue to advocate for gender-friendly public spaces, demand that gender-affirming hormone therapy be covered by national health insurance, and engage in public education on transgender issues. 

➌ Anti-Discrimination: We advocate for anti-discrimination legislation and operate a free legal clinic for LGBTQIA+ individuals facing discrimination.

➍ Family Formation Rights: We continue to push for diverse family formation. We simultaneously advocate for extending the legal presumption of parentage to children born to same-sex spouses, opening up access to assisted reproduction for single and coupled people with uteruses, and establishing a surrogacy system. 

➎ Gender-Friendly Campuses: As we complete our "Gender-Friendly Campus Index," we continue to engage in public advocacy aimed at decreasing gender policing at schools and contributing to a more friendly campus climate for LGBTQIA+ students. 

➏ Human Rights Monitoring: We continue to stay up to date on the latest gender-related human rights developments both domestically and internationally, as well as share this information to engaged audiences in Taiwan through social media, public seminars, and other forms of communication. 

➐ Capacity Building: Every year, we implement programming such as camps, reading groups, and study groups aimed at cultivating new talent for gender-related human rights advocacy work.

Organization Milestones (Top 3):

➊ Winning constitutional court case that led to Taiwan becoming the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in 2019. 

➋ Winning Xiao E's case in 2021 for changing her legal gender without providing proof of surgery; the judges in this case ruled that regulations requiring compulsory surgery are unconstitutional.

➌ Winning five litigation cases and four administrative appeals for transnational same-sex marriage recognition, which led to the Ministry of Interior issuing an interpretation addressing this issue in 2023.

Contact Us   DONATE NOW  

Tel: +886-2932-1292  (hours: 13:00 – 17:30 Tuesday to Friday)

Webpage: tapcpr.org

Facebook page: www.facebook.com/tapcpr  【社團法人台灣伴侶權益推動聯盟】

Email: [email protected]

Address: No.188, Jingfu St., Wenshan Dist., Taipei City 116, Taiwan