Taiwan has anti-discrimination laws which prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The Gender Equity Education Act of 2004 protects both the sexual orientation and gender identity of students. The Employment Services Act was amended in 2007 to bar discrimination in employment on the basis of sexual orientation. In addition, the Domestic Violence Protection Act applies equally to same-sex couples, according to the explanation attached to the particular article. In 2010, it was announced that from 2011 school textbooks will include topics on LGBT human rights and non-discrimination (UNDP 2010: 59).
Mongolia
A long fight occurred in Mongolia to secure legal registration for the first official advocacy organisation, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Centre. The first attempts to register the organisation in 2007 were fraught with bureaucratic snags. The authorities initially banned the organiser from using ‘foreign terms’ in the organisation’s title, but this was unavoidable as the words lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender did not exist in Mongolian. Furthermore, academics at the Mongolian Academy of Science denied the organisers’ request to add them to the official lexicon (Kaiman 2012). There were many more objections, and at least ten failed submissions. The formal letter of rejection argued, in part, that the title ‘Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender centre’ had a meaning that conflicted with Mongolian customs and traditions and had the potential to set the wrong example for youth and adolescents.
An international campaign for legal registration was mounted, and gained support from various organisations, including the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission and Human Rights Watch (both based in the US), Forum Asia (based in Bangkok) and Labrys (based in Kyrgyzstan). The coordinated campaign was active within Mongolia, but also internationally, and at the UN (IGLHRC 2009). These efforts led to support from the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia and the human rights adviser to the president. Registration was finally completed in December 2009. The next year the Centre submitted a report on LGBT rights in Mongolia as part of the UN’s Universal Periodic Review of the country.