What’s it like being a transgender foreigner in Taiwan?

A forlorn save-the-date card sits on a table in Iona Ramirez’s Taipei walk-up apartment. It’s for her sister’s wedding in Florida this fall. As late as January of this year, she’d been intending to go and both support her sibling and see her family. Now, however, she feels that going to the United States at all is simply not an option: as a transgender woman, the country of her birth and citizenship no longer seems safe.

If Ramirez were to return, she worries about harassment both at the border and more generally. Equality Florida has placed a travel advisory on the state, warning LGBTQ+, and transgender people more specifically, of risks associated with travel there. While the United States can’t deny entry to a citizen and valid passports with updated gender markers are still being honored, she says “everything is changing so fast” that a policy change at the wrong time could end with her trapped there, far from her home in Taiwan, her passport confiscated.

Indeed, proposed anti-trans legislation has only accelerated: the current budget bill, which has not been passed, would cut federal aid for gender-affirming care at any age, and may strip transgender people of Medicare and Medicaid if read strictly. This is in addition to bans on participating in sports and even flying Pride flags, and a push by the architects of Project 2025 for the Trump White House to label “violent transgender extremists” as terrorists.

“If the budget goes through as-is, I’m basically never going to set foot in the US again,” Ramirez said.

Taiwan, in contrast, feels like something of a haven. While life here as a transgender woman can be complicated or frustrating at times, Ramirez generally doesn’t encounter harassment, and she has been able to both access hormone replacement therapy (HRT) and correct her gender marker on paperwork. The ability to do these basic things – receive gender affirming healthcare, live openly both at work and in her personal life, and have her vital documents match who she is – are rapidly becoming impossible in the United States.

When discussing transgender people’s experience in Taiwan, it’s easy to fall into an oversimplified binary (pun somewhat intended). Some may conclude that Taiwan is either a conservative Asian culture at heart, and thus transgender acceptance will never be fully attained and may even be a Western cultural import. The opposing narrative holds that Taiwan is a beacon of LGBTQIA+ acceptance in the region where transgender people can be who they are without harassment or onerous bureaucratic hurdles.

The truth, as usual, lies in a nuanced liminal space where Taiwan as a society is figuring out where it stands between older notions of conservatism and newer ones of openness, resulting in a kaleidoscope of experiences for transgender and nonbinary people. With the rapid erosion of human rights for transgender people in the US, and the March 31st Transgender Day of Visibility having recently passed, there is no better time to explore the issues faced by transgender foreigners who have decided to settle in Taiwan.

Where Taiwan Succeeds in Transgender Equality

Social acceptance “[There’s been] no overt discrimination that I can think of,” Ramirez noted. “But I don’t think I’ve put myself in a situation where, outside of employment, that could be a thing. I haven’t had anyone say anything to me.”

Liting Tan, a Singaporean immigrant who is nonbinary, similarly describes Taiwan as a place where they can be who they are.

“Taiwan is so open, and you have advocacy, and people living their lives out and proud. I’m not saying in Singapore there’s no one, but I left just as it was opening up….I moved to Taiwan because it was so gay-friendly. These communities were open and existing here,” they said.

“I was born in Singapore and grew up in Singapore. I’m 38 this year. So when I was growing up, transgender identity was a very taboo and foreign concept,” Tan added.  “And most of the time what [understanding] was available what was known as trans — it was transsexual and shortened to ‘tranny’ — mostly it was an AMAB [assigned male at birth]  transitioned to a woman. It was always kind of like, it always looked like a man in a dress. So transgender was a foreign concept, even growing up queer.”

Having read about queer culture in Taiwan, Tan eventually settled here and learned more about themselves, expanding their understanding of what forms identity might take.

“I met someone who was nonbinary here and it introduced me to the concept of non-binariness and opened up the concept of what transgender is. [I started to realize that] woman doesn’t fit, man doesn’t fit, but non-binary fits. It doesn’t have to be feminine or masculine. I didn’t meet anyone in Singapore who identified as nonbinary. There are masculine parts of me, feminine parts of me, I don’t feel fully male and female. So coming here I feel like hey this is me, this fits me.”

Tan organizes drag shows at Barcade, a popular Taipei venue, and previously held them at Another Brick, a Taipei expat bar. The shows have been slowly gaining popularity and recognition, and are the only ones in Taipei that have drag kings in regular rotation. “We pride ourselves on being the most inclusive and diverse show in Taiwan…we try our best to foster a welcoming, no nonsense, no tolerance for hate, no tolerance for intolerance [environment].” The existence and visibility of the show demonstrates Taiwan’s relatively accepting and inclusive culture.

“I was always the kid on the outside, always on the fringe of social groups or whatever…including for me is a big thing,” Tan said.

Tan added, “I believe that the drag scene in Taiwan now is a lot more inclusive and tries to be more inclusive. We’re the only place in East Asia that has an active drag king scene. Drag queens are more prominent, and kings have always been struggling.”

Ramirez agreed that Taiwan is generally more inclusive than other Asian countries are perceived to be, noting that tradition and notions of how to conduct oneself in public and the workplace may belie less inclusive behavior or attitudes.

“Taiwan does seem the most chill about it….even outside of work culture, maybe there’s a bit more of a live and let live attitude,” she said.

Trans issues outside Taiwan

Tan feels Taiwan is a more open country than their native Singapore, with more advocacy and more people living their lives “out and proud”.

“I’m not saying in Singapore has no one, but I left just as it was opening up,” they added.  “When I left it, was still little pockets, not so accessible….I guess I missed the boat in Singapore, but I moved to Taiwan because it was so gay-freindly. These communities were open and existing here.”

Anti-trans sentiment is certainly not limited to other countries in Asia. Ramirez pointed out that she knows a lot more than she otherwise would about politics in the United Kingdom because “that’s where things started.” She added that part of the problem is Labour refusing to push back, with Prime Minister Kier Starmer being “right Labour” and “a feckless coward.”

“A lot of people think the UK was like the petri dish for pushing [anti-trans beliefs] in the US. To give an idea of how far the UK has fallen…Teresa May had gay conversion therapy bans on her platform, and then she [suddenly] didn’t. The Tories were on board for a full conversion ban, but then what about trans people?”

According to Ramirez, anti-trans action  in the U.K. has had a spillover effect on the US. “A lot of Democrat hangers-on are like ‘you said too much about trans people’,  but they didn’t say anything about trans people, the only people talking about it were the Republicans. The democrats keep chasing the center so they’re moving right, so they throw marginalized people like trans people and minorities under the bus,” she said.

“I try to be careful with my words, but I’m like – hey guys, m this is a genocide, you’re literally making transpeople illegal.”

Tan agreed, noting that they’d paid attention to the US as a global power.

“I’m not American,” they said, “[but] because of America’s influence around the world, we look at America. It used to be the beacon. That’s what countries legislation-wise could do for trans people. And yeah, that’s not the dream anymore, you know?”

Ramirez worries about her future in Taiwan if the US continues to attack transgender recognition. Would she be able to stay if the US revoked her passport for having the “wrong” gender marker? Would she be able to deal with it from here? She doesn’t know.

Even after Trump got elected, I was thinking about maybe doing a trip to the US in April to deal with some paperwork….[but] I think the speed is surprising. So now I’m definitely not intending to go back….How long until I get a paper that says ‘your passport is no longer valid’?….I know it sounds paranoid, but is it really?”

Areas for Improvement

Although Ramirez was able to correct her gender on her Taiwanese identity cards, the process required her to present a passport showing that gender. Countries where the government doesn’t recognize transition, a group which now arguably includes the United States, make it impossible for transgender foreigners from those countries to make the desired changes in Taiwan.

Ramirez began transitioning in 2019, after having lived here for five years. Although the gender marker on her permanent resident card (APRC) has been updated, her name has not. To do that, she’d need her name changed on her passport, which has still not been done. She needs yet another updated passport to change the deadname (a wrong-gendered birth name) on her APRC, which may be impossible with new regulations. The status of US passport gender marker changes is unclear, with an injunction against the initial regulations being reversed by an executive order from President Trump.

Currently, only those who need to renew or obtain a passport may choose their gender marker; they cannot be changed on valid passports. It is unclear whether, having a female gender marker now, Ramirez would be able to keep it with an updated name.

Tan points out that it can be more difficult for Taiwanese than foreigners to change the gender on their national identification cards. There is currently no law explicitly allowing the change without gender-affirming surgery, leading to some household registration offices rejecting such applications. These cases have made their way to the courts, which have typically ruled in favor of the individual wanting to change their gender.

Tan finds movement on this issue entirely too slow.

“I would really like for Taiwan — I’m not going to mince my words — I would like Taiwanese legislators to grow some balls,” they said.

“I get that man-man-lai [慢慢來, or ‘take it easy], appease everybody, this is nonviolent strategy, I get it. But Taiwan is interesting because if you sue, and the court rules in your favor, there’s always a way….So it tells me Taiwan is not opposed to these things; Taiwan is not saying no and beuing unreasonable. So what is stopping you from going the whole nine yards and let’s just say that people can change their gender marker easily?  It’s like 6 or 7 people who’ve been able to change their ID already, but nobody wants to pass a sweeping law about it.”

“If you really want to call yourself the diverse LGBT friendly country that you are, grow some balls, push for it, own it,” Tan added.

Aside from paperwork woes and despite an overall atmosphere of acceptance, Ramirez and Tan have encountered a few issues living in Taiwan.

“I face the largest issue when going to the bathroom. It’s funny I’ve been called out in the bathroom more than any country in the world,” Tan said.

“In Singapore I never get called out. I’m masc and walk into the ladies, and I’ll get called out. I just say I’m female, it’s easier. I’m usually met with laughter, it’s never confrontational. I think Taiwanese people like to correct mistakes in the nicest ways they can.”

Both Tan and Ramirez have faced minor issues at, of all places, convenience stores.

“We have little aunties next door in a convenience store. I don’t think they’ve figured out that I’m AFAB [assigned female at birth] yet. I go there to buy ice and stuff for the bar, we interact a lot, our deliveries go there. And they call me ‘shuai ge’ [handsome fellow]. I don’t know if they’ve decided to accept me for who I am, or they haven’t figured it out….it’s some form of respect that they’ve decided to address me the way they think that would make me feel comfortable and good about myself,” they said.

“One cashier at the 711 near my apartment – she doesn’t work there anymore – would still call me “Mr.” and I’d go to the Family Mart next door and I’d get “Ms.”,” Ramirez noted.

“On the flip side, I do have to say that I’ve also faced some open challenge to how I present,” Tan added.

“I have been confronted by some people in Taiwan for being masculine-presenting. I believe in Singapore it’s just that nobody outright confronts you. I have been in situations here that could have turned hostile if nobody stepped in. I was in a bar, the guy at the bar was staring at us. He got drunk enough to approach the table….thank god the bartender stepped in and was like ‘hey buddy, let’s leave people alone’.”

Ramirez names ambivalent attitudes to same-sex marriage as two problem areas in Taiwan. Although she knows there are some people who are politically against marriage equality and trans rights, she believes that much of this sentiment is a reaction to recent court cases or political news from the US or UK. She also admitted that the 2018 referendum where voters rejected same-sex marriage was poorly-worded and confusing.

To illustrate this, Ramirez recounted a friend’s story of her visit to her more traditional family in Hsinchu. The friend is a lesbian, and her mother chided her good-naturedly about not having married her girlfriend yet.

“And my friend’s friend yelled at her mom saying ‘well you voted against it!’”, Ramirez said.

She added, “It’s that odd intersection of live-and-let-live attitude, and a desire to hold onto tradition or just the sort of cultural momentum of tradition that a lot of times it’s hard to break away from, because it gets ingrained into who we are. It’s hard to de-program that.”

Despite these issues, both Ramirez and Tan feel they’re able to live good lives in Taiwan, with the majority of their experiences being of acceptance and inclusion.

“I’d say between Taiwan and Singapore, there’s no real stigma in Singapore but in Taiwan I feel more free to be in-your-face-queer,” Tan said.

(Featured photo by Pontin Su on Pixabay)