1320 Timothy Hildebrandt According to this related counter-argument,China's Confucian roots,which emphasise traditional conceptions of family,are too deeply inculcated into society to approve of government-sanctioned same-sex marriage.To evaluate the veracity of this cultural argument,it is instructive to compare attitudes towards homo- sexuality in two other countries with Confucian backgrounds:Taiwan and Singapore share similar culture traditions,each boasting a large Chinese diaspora, but their policies towards homosexuality are vastly different.Whereas Singapore has strict laws against homosexuality,Taiwan is seen comparatively as an Asian gay Mecca;in 2007,the Mayor of Taipei publicly called homosexuality 'a natural phenomenon'.34 While gays have not yet been extended full marriage rights,they are seen as an important interest group in Taiwanese politics,even attracting the attention of politicians before elections to secure votes.The country's LGBT movement is so vibrant that social organisations have pressured other countries to improve their gay rights record:activists recently protested against anti-gay laws in Nicaragua in front of the country's attache in Taipei.35 Since Confucianism does not necessarily determine attitudes toward homosexu- ality,we could broaden the scope of inquiry to tradition,in general.In China, many traditional practices have been eroded as the result of economic development and sometimes by government design.D'Emilio has argued that capitalism,more generally,gives citizens the opportunity to no longer be tied to traditional expectations of procreation.36 In China,economic growth in the coastal regions has led to increased individual mass migration from the hinterland,leaving families either temporarily,or permanently,transient and atomised.Moreover,through a strict family planning policy,Chinese families have been made artificially small and the distribution of sexes is now skewed towards males.When it comes to policies that conflict with traditional values in China,none of them would violate Confucian ideals of family more than the 'one-child policy'.Yet,in this case other government concerns overrode cultural injunctions.37 Although many Chinese cultural traditions have eroded over the last century, society will not necessarily be willing to accept a drastic modification to marriage. After all,even among some social liberals in the US,there is reluctance to accept same-sex marriage in name.However,in China,marriage is not as institutionalised and church-sanctioned as it is in the West and cultural injunctions against non-marriage are diminishing.3s The state-run news agency published highlights from a Beijing Normal University survey of nearly two million citizens that found only three per cent of respondents were opposed to unmarried cohabitation;the vast majority of respondents reported that they would be willing or are already in such a living arrangement(51 per cent)or would not cohabitat without marrying 34 Voice of America (27 September 2008) 35 Taipei Times (14 September 2007). 36 John D'Emilio,Capitalism and Gay Identity',in Snitow,Stansell Thompson (eds).Powers of Desire:The Politics of Sexuality (New York:The Monthly Review Press,(1983). 7 Throughout modern Chinese history,tradition has been dismantled to further state goals:Old Confucian traditions were attacked during the Great Proletarian Revolution in 1949 while other remnants where eradicated during subsequent volatile government-sponsored campaigns,such as the Anti-Rightist Campaign,Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. 38 For a far more detailed exploration of marriage law in China see Michael Palmer,The Re-Emergence of Family Law in Post-Mao China:Marriage,Divorce and Reproduction',The China Quarterly,141(1995),pp.110-34.According to this related counter-argument, China’s Confucian roots, which emphasise traditional conceptions of family, are too deeply inculcated into society to approve of government-sanctioned same-sex marriage. To evaluate the veracity of this cultural argument, it is instructive to compare attitudes towards homo￾sexuality in two other countries with Confucian backgrounds: Taiwan and Singapore share similar culture traditions, each boasting a large Chinese diaspora, but their policies towards homosexuality are vastly different. Whereas Singapore has strict laws against homosexuality, Taiwan is seen comparatively as an Asian gay Mecca; in 2007, the Mayor of Taipei publicly called homosexuality ‘a natural phenomenon’.34 While gays have not yet been extended full marriage rights, they are seen as an important interest group in Taiwanese politics, even attracting the attention of politicians before elections to secure votes. The country’s LGBT movement is so vibrant that social organisations have pressured other countries to improve their gay rights record: activists recently protested against anti-gay laws in Nicaragua in front of the country’s attaché in Taipei.35 Since Confucianism does not necessarily determine attitudes toward homosexu￾ality, we could broaden the scope of inquiry to tradition, in general. In China, many traditional practices have been eroded as the result of economic development and sometimes by government design. D’Emilio has argued that capitalism, more generally, gives citizens the opportunity to no longer be tied to traditional expectations of procreation.36 In China, economic growth in the coastal regions has led to increased individual mass migration from the hinterland, leaving families either temporarily, or permanently, transient and atomised. Moreover, through a strict family planning policy, Chinese families have been made artificially small and the distribution of sexes is now skewed towards males. When it comes to policies that conflict with traditional values in China, none of them would violate Confucian ideals of family more than the ‘one-child policy’. Yet, in this case other government concerns overrode cultural injunctions.37 Although many Chinese cultural traditions have eroded over the last century, society will not necessarily be willing to accept a drastic modification to marriage. After all, even among some social liberals in the US, there is reluctance to accept same-sex marriage in name. However, in China, marriage is not as institutionalised and church-sanctioned as it is in the West and cultural injunctions against non-marriage are diminishing.38 The state-run news agency published highlights from a Beijing Normal University survey of nearly two million citizens that found only three per cent of respondents were opposed to unmarried cohabitation; the vast majority of respondents reported that they would be willing or are already in such a living arrangement (51 per cent) or would not cohabitat without marrying 34 Voice of America (27 September 2008). 35 Taipei Times (14 September 2007). 36 John D’Emilio, ‘Capitalism and Gay Identity’, in Snitow, Stansell & Thompson (eds), Powers of Desire: The Politics of Sexuality (New York: The Monthly Review Press, (1983). 37 Throughout modern Chinese history, tradition has been dismantled to further state goals: Old Confucian traditions were attacked during the Great Proletarian Revolution in 1949 while other remnants where eradicated during subsequent volatile government-sponsored campaigns, such as the Anti-Rightist Campaign, Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution. 38 For a far more detailed exploration of marriage law in China see Michael Palmer, ‘The Re-Emergence of Family Law in Post-Mao China: Marriage, Divorce and Reproduction’, The China Quarterly, 141 (1995), pp. 110–34. 1320 Timothy Hildebrandt