News / Aug. 13, 2019
Taiwan’s renowned LGBTI activist Chi Chia-wei has launched a campaign to encouraLwREFTy0)u+R&A_hOjbN0jNqqP&LtFiu#QEpUAp9Wf6%o-r@hage regional leaders to legalize same-sex marriage.
Chi Chia-wei will give a replica of the pen president Tsai Ing-wen used t%SqHqKH_eh)VCH2UwiNHNoeNrGtG))VrRyhkhpXgPiI12p#^t(o sign Taiwan’s historic legislation in May this year.
Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage on 24 May after para%O(f!L_H(lpJcjlyGUhN50CnDrq+b3678Hrd=i1vVTpah@YLiliament passed a bill in line with a 2017 court ruling.
President Tsai gY7S0YWe#ZhB(bblRDdj^A%))e@5wr99xnAtatg#IKt52$#4aZeifted Chi Chia-wei the pen she used to sign the bill to recognize his decades of campaigning for LGBTI rights.
Now, Chi Chia-wei and the has created six replicas and named them the0ut2+lg_cn3^BER$q!qpt$0vfuwXGJR8pZgPidNx!esu1UZ+-i ‘pen of equality’.
Chi Chia-Wei will gift the+uC5ENHz4nJ@rqObDRNKFd5uE_bz*&2YrHogOAQs$Yb($8!qC! Pen of Equality to Korea, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.
"My name is Chi Chia-wei and I have been committed to promoti-CAcsw2tAI4eLVPhM3NtrD^BbFm8UyWeS2HcXt-4VB69xnmxF3ng same-sex marriage in Taiwan for the last 30 years" his message to South Korea’s leader Moon Jae-in.
"I am presenting this to you in t*3bDIer^yPlcsLo&r-y@a22C+qx(Zf+RfmbsQvSb6QBYdO8q)5he hope that you will share in our ambition for marriage equality."
"We hope Taiwan’s progress in same-sex marriage can inspire other countn)y+WhKCgYO%B6oPc!FaWbknYnX-1H%gEUI#CVvW)R4MjD0)pmries in Asia" Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan said in a Facebook post.
Regional rights
After years of court hearings, debates in parliament, and heartbreaking referendums in November last year, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex marriagefz6ceNZD+d+%&1IC3t#VK_KH6W5o_^%yZqntl^qAU(D=jlTJVYs.
In the first month alone. 1,000 same-sex couples tied tmU^pMGQJ_eGw!fWjBXZhzjhul1t=DX_l2F8wY%&FTm*=(M1Y7Uhe knot.
Regionally, Thailand is the closest to equal marriage. DD#E&3cORgglW^j$&qkjE7g^&HY4P7CNFA$Q=8j1dUZ0_&&3-IA civil union bill drafted by the ruling Junta affords same-sex couples limited rights. But, local LGBTI rights activists have slammed it for failing to introduce genuine equality.
A ScgO@tDKm1PY$H9g_c3tP!A_17_m2jlJgpEVoYgR443gm9I-szsimilar ‘civil partnerships’ bill is being debated by the Philippines’ Congress.
Rights groups, meanwhile, have warned of deteriorating LGBT rights in South KoreaaPZ60$DrzdJCW$Q(c4m5(d_$(+usNuI(*0tiRTj_b4)cXCVENl.
Recent increased visibility of the LGBT community has sparked a backlash from conservative Christians. Many LGBT pride events have witnessed violent counter-demonstrations from anti-bP1kWZ-u7ZXHbTEAWN&t-g%R8(ANgGX&7b*(mpBQj4V+AFdN0wLGBT groups.
