Could Taiwan be first in Asia with same-sex marriage?

Taipei, Taiwan (CNN)Just before Alvin Chang's mother passed away 12 years ago, she asked Alvin's older sister to look after him.

Why? She had realized her son was homosexual and needed support.

"He will never get married. So you have to take care of him," Alvin recalls her saying to his sister.

Now, with public and political acceptance of LGBT relationships growing in Taiwan, Alvin's late mother, and many of her generation, might be proven wrong.

A new proposal to legalize same-sex marriage is expected to be put forward in a parliamentary committee this year, according to legislators interviewed by CNN.

"I'm sure gay marriage will be legalized soon," said Chang, now aged 45, who runs one of Taipei's most famous gay bars, Dalida, in the heart of the city's gay village. On the walls of the bar, there are posters promoting the legalization of gay marriage.

"I believe she (my mother) would feel happy for me, deep inside, if I one day got married, even if it is with a man."

Progressive?

Taiwan has a large gay community and is one of the most progressive places in Asia in terms of LGBT rights.

Sex between partners of the same gender is legal, discrimination based on sexual orientation is banned in workplaces and schools, and changing one's legal gender is permitted. The island's annual gay pride parade is the biggest in Asia.

Now, with the more liberal Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in power -- Tsai Ing-wen was sworn in as Taiwan's first female president in May -- expectations are high that the the island will become the first place in Asia to permit same-sex marriage.

The 59-year-old president has repeatedly spoken in support of sexual equality and LGBT rights.

"In the face of love, everyone is equal," she said in a Facebook video during last year's gay pride parade.

"I support marriage equality. Every person should be able to look for love freely, and freely seek their own happiness."

Nonetheless, many LGBT people won't come out to their parents or employers.

Homosexuality is still controversial with the older generation, and gay marriage is opposed by politically influential social conservative and Christian groups.

A poll from 2013 showed 75% of Christians opposed legalization, while a slight majority of Buddhists, Taoists and the greater public were in favor.