Taipei: More than 40 percent of Taiwanese have reported having gay relatives or friends, according to a recent survey released Monday by the Taiwan Equality Campaign. The survey found that 43.2 percent of the 1,083 respondents said they were aware of having gay family members or friends, a 5 percentage point increase from 2024, the advocacy group said at a press conference in Taipei.

According to Focus Taiwan, Wong Yu-cin, the group’s advocacy and civic engagement project manager, stated, “People who recognize the identity of their relatives and friends tend to show more support for related issues.” Since Taiwan’s legalization of same-sex marriage on May 24, 2019, the Taiwan Equality Campaign has released an annual survey around that date to track the public’s evolving views on LGBTQ+ issues.

Wong noted that this year’s results showed a slight decline in support for several issues. Backing for same-sex marriage fell to 54.3 percent, down 2.2 percentage points from last year’s record high. Support also dipped for related issues, including the belief that people should have equal rights to same-sex marriage regardless of nationality, which fell by 1.4 percentage points to 62.9 percent.

Backing for the right of same-sex couples to adopt children dropped slightly by 0.4 points to 65.7 percent. The declines suggest that although more gay people are coming out, the government still has work to do in raising public understanding and support, Wong said.