Thailand made history by legalizing same-sex marriage, becoming the first Southeast Asian nation and the third in Asia, following Taiwan and Nepal, to do so.

It's a big week for LGBTQ+ couples in Thailand. On Thursday, they will be able to legally register their marriages, making it only the third place in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal, where they have such a right.

But in the 2019 election which returned Thailand to civilian rule, a new, youthful reformist party called Future Forward, which fully supported equal marriage, did unexpectedly well. They won the third-largest share of seats, revealing a growing hunger for change in Thailand.

Thailand's historic same-sex marriage equality law came into force on Thursday, making it the first country in Southeast Asia and third territory in Asia after Taiwan and Nepal to legalise marriages of same-sex couples.

The Taiwan Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has revealed plans to propose a draft law on virtual asset service providers (VASPs) in June 2025. The draft will allow Taiwan banks to issue stablecoins for the first time.

Police have issued warnings against traveling to Cambodia or Thailand when others have paid for the travel fare in light of increasing cases of teenagers, middle-aged and elderly people being tricked into traveling to these countries and then being held for ransom.

Hundreds of same-sex couples tied the knot across Thailand on Thursday, as the country becomes the first in Southeast Asia to legally recognize equal marriage.

They’ve waited six years to call themselves a “family.” Pehthai Thanomkhet and Nathnicha Klinthaworn finally did on Thursday when Thailand’s law on same-sex marriage came into effect and they got formally married at a mass wedding event in Bangkok.

Hundreds of people began registering their marriages at a mall in Bangkok, as Thailand became one of the few places in Asia to legalize same-sex unions.

Thailand’s marriage equality law is set to take effect on Jan. 22. The country will become the first one in Southeast Asia — and the third in the continent after Taiwan and Nepal — to extend marriage rights to same-sex couples. Thai MPs passed the marriage equality bill on June 15, 2024, by a 210-180 vote margin. Four lawmakers abstained.

Thailand marked a historic milestone as 1,832 same-sex couples registered their marriages nationwide on January 23, 2025, the first day of the Marriage Equality Act implementation.