Taiwan’s parliament officially allowed same-sex couples to register their marriages with government agencies, Friday (17/5/2019).
According to the HKFP, lawmakers in Taiwan have passed a law that allows same-sex couples to form “exclusively permanent bonds” and another clause that allows them to apply for “marriage registration” with government agencies.
Parliament’s decision was taken based on the results of a vote that took place on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia. It was a major victory for the LGBT community in Taiwan after years of campaigning for equal marriage rights and placing Taiwan at the forefront of Asia’s burgeoning gay rights movement.
In recent months, groups against same-sex marriage have mobilized to get rid of any reference laws on marriage, instead putting forward opposing arguments that offer something closer to limited same-sex bonds.
Human rights groups lauded Friday’s vote that resulted in a permit decision to apply for “marriage registration” – known as Clause Four – bringing their communities closer to parity with heterosexual couples. “Part of Clause Four ensures that two people of the same sex can register their marriage on May 24 and ensures that Taiwan becomes the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage and successfully turns a new page in history,” said a Taiwan Alliance spokesman. to Promote Civil Partnership Rights as quoted by HKFP, Friday (17/5/2019).
Two years ago the high court ruled that Taiwan does not allow same-sex couples to marry and considered it a violation of the constitution, the judge gave the government until May 24, 2019 to make changes or see marriage equality automatically enforced.
Other key parts of the new law are still being debated, including what provisions, if any, there will be for same-sex couples to adopt. Whatever the outcome, the law will not equate heterosexual couples because even the most progressive version only offers biological adoption.
Gay rights groups have previously indicated they are willing to accept compromises, as long as the new law recognizes the concept of marriage, because then they will be able to fight against the law in terms of surrogacy and adoption.
“In Taiwan a marriage is valid when it is registered, so allowing marriage registration is no doubt tantamount to acknowledging the marriage itself,” said Victoria Hsu, a gay rights lawyer, Friday (17/05/2019).
In the last decade, Taiwan does look to have become one of the most progressive societies in Asia when it comes to gay rights and holds the largest annual gay pride parade .
However, in fact Taiwan is still a place where most of the population rejects LGBT, especially in rural areas. Gay groups and religious communities were bolstered by a series of referendum victories in November 2018, in which voters comprehensively rejected defining marriage as anything other than the union between a man and a woman.
In a Facebook post, President Tsai Ing-wen said she realized the issue had divided her citizens in two. Tsai had previously expressed support for gay marriage but later revised her statement after a court ruling, fearing the backlash of her electorate.
At the time of the vote, thousands of gay rights supporters gathered outside the parliament building to vote, despite the heavy rain.
“We are just a group of people who want to live well in this land and who love each other,” said gay activist Cindy Su in her speech.
Opponents of LGBT marriages were angry at holding a vote in parliament and said the inclusion of a “marriage registration” clause ignored the referendum.
Tseng Hsien-ying, of the Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation, told local media that the vote had “trampled on the hopes of the Taiwanese people that marriage and family are formed by a man and a woman, a husband and a wife”.
Currently Australia and New Zealand are the only places in the Asia-Pacific region that have passed gay marriage laws. While Taiwan is the first place in Asia to do so.
