Asia's first gay weddings take place in Taiwan

Same-sex couples in Taiwan can now officially marry after the new law granting them full marriage rights came into effect on Friday, May 24. It was the culmination of a three-decade-long fight for equality. The wheels of marriage equality were set in motion in 2017 when the self-governing territory's constitutional court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage.

Registry offices in Taipei were packed as hundereds of couples seized the earliest opportunity to tie the knot on the day the new law came into effect. Rainbow flags were on display alongside stacks of government-issued, rainbow-themed registration forms.

The constitutional court gave the government two years to enact relevant legislation. But after the court ruling, conservative groups initiated a series of referendums last year and voters overwhelmingly backed the notion of defining marriage purely as a union between a man and a woman.

Polls show a majority of the Taiwanese population supports same-sex marriage. But the issue has also caused deep divisions on an island that remains staunchly conservative, especially outside of the cities and among the older generation. Still, Taiwan has a lively gay rights movement and is famed for an annual pride parade that showcases the vibrancy of its LGBT community.

Full parity on adoption rights, however, is not included in the law, which still contains restrictions on same-sex couples that are not faced by heterosexual couples. Gay rights groups say they are willing to accept partial equality for now in the hopes of winning later legal battles over issues such as adoption, surrogacy and marrying foreigners.