TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Four years after the legalization of same-sex marriage, an opinion poll found public support had surged to 62.6% from 37.4% before its introduction, reports said Friday (March 19).

Taiwan allowed gay marriage from May 24, 2019, becoming the first country in Asia to do so. On Tuesday (May 16), the Legislative Yuan also approved an amendment allowing for adoptions by gay couples.

While the government’s latest survey of gender attitudes only recorded a rise of 1.7% in support from the previous year, the total still amounted to a leap of 25.2% from 2018, CNA reported. The right to adoption received approval from 74.1% of respondents, 3.1% more than in 2022 and 20.3% more than in 2018.

The survey also asked for opinions on traditional gender roles. It showed 42.6% disagreed with the statement that women were more suited to taking care of children, an increase of 5.2% from last year’s poll. Meanwhile, 94.3% rejected the notion that technical and science subjects were not suitable for women to study.

New questions in the annual survey found that 84% approved of parental leave for men, and 95.2% said that married daughters should have the right to inherit from their parents. For the first time, an absolute majority of poll respondents, or 54.8%, supported the mention of a third gender on identity documents for transgender citizens.

The poll was conducted by phone April 27-29, and received 1,076 valid responses from citizens aged 20 or over, with a margin of error of 2.99%.