TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan recorded three firsts for Asia in its fight against gender discrimination over the past few years, the government said Wednesday (June 15).

The Cabinet was presenting its fourth annual national report about its performance in regard the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), CNA reported.

Taiwan achieved the best results in Asia for gender equality in 2019, legalized same-sex marriage the same year, and saw the proportion of female legislators exceed 40% in the 2020 elections, said Cabinet Spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成). He also serves as the executive secretary of the government’s gender equality committee.

“Human rights is a lonely job,” Lo said, but Taiwan’s progress in human rights allowed it to be seen internationally as much as by its economic performance. The CEDAW document is only one of four human rights-related reports the government plans to issue during the year.

The report also mentioned advances in improving childcare pay and raising the minimum age for marriage to 18 years. The latest CEDAW document will be submitted for international review from Nov. 28 to Dec. 2.