What explains Taiwan’s vacillating support for same-sex marriage? Despite earlier favourable public opinion and a Constitutional Court decision in 2017 in favour of legalisation, anti-lgbt referendums in 2018 found overwhelming support. We argue that the framing of same-sex marriage as undermining traditional family structures allowed opponents to shift the national discussion on legalisation. Our results suggest that supporters and the Tsai administration may have overestimated the extent to which opinions on legalisation were firm.

We ask to what extent opposition to same-sex marriage in South Korea is driven by Protestant identification and how this differs from Catholic and non-Christian views. Furthermore, is there a separate demographic, partisan or ideological influence beyond that captured by religious identity? Analysis of the 2016 Korean General Social Survey (KGSS) data finds not only clear perceptual distinctions between Protestants versus Buddhists and Catholics, but that partisan distinctions endure, even after controlling for the more popular non-LGBT-specific anti-discrimination legislation. In addition, younger and female respondents were more supportive of legalization, while education did not have the same effect as in the broader LGBT literature.

PurposeThis article addresses Taiwanese public opinion on same-sex marriage, connecting it to the 2020 general election.Design/methodology/approachOriginal survey data are combined with analysis of the existing literature and 2020 election results.FindingsOriginal survey data find that nearly one in five respondents have changed their views on same-sex marriage since its legalization, with most of those who have changed their views more opposed to legalization than before. However, this shift and its related support for the Kuomintang (KMT) do not appear to have influenced election results.Social implicationsThe results suggest that positions on same-sex marriage remain somewhat in flux, while the success of the pro-legalization Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) may lead to additional LGBT rights.Originality/valueThis combines original survey data with election results to analyze the effects of same-sex marriage legalization on the election outcome.

What explains why some countries recognise Taiwan despite attempts by the People’s Republic of China to pressure some to switch recognition? We argue for moving beyond ‘dollar diplomacy’ claims to unpack additional economic influences that might help explain why some states favour Taiwan. Using cross-national evidence from all countries (1950–2016), we find multiple economic factors influencing recognition and conclude that Taiwan’s comparative success in certain regions cannot be explained by broad structural factors.

What explains public support for Taiwan’s diplomatic recognition efforts? A sizable literature addresses the role of China and ‘dollar diplomacy’ in influencing countries to recognise Taiwan, yet little research addresses how these factors potentially influence Taiwanese public perceptions of efforts to maintain formal diplomatic recognition. Through four waves of an experimental survey design, we find that Taiwanese are more supportive of efforts when framed in terms of responding to China but support decreases when efforts are framed as potentially leading to increased demands for international aid from diplomatic partners.