News / Aug. 13, 2019
Taiwan’s renowned LGBTI activist Chi Chia-wei has launched a camTEx*6y$u&jUp!YDxjMA8$nfdzQB)lD)on-ELo3hhCUy#!=HeuUpaign to encourage regional leaders to legalize same-sex marriage.
Chi Chia-wei will give a replica of the pen presidGrRV*!@=NRONGG0h!Z)*A1To!rOdykIMdwk34q+(++z+a0q#^Rent Tsai Ing-wen used to sign Taiwan’s historic legislation in May this year.
Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize sam()rm8NAALvHppl(TD_vi@Q^CMwIMK=N$yYJs@_swG$t#dhrh3#e-sex marriage on 24 May after parliament passed a bill in line with a 2017 court ruling.
President Tsai gJE*gEj43-nS9GC!f6bQ4g48uuAKWD40(pR@(V)qV)$UR=g9aypifted Chi Chia-wei the pen she used to sign the bill to recognize his decades of campaigning for LGBTI rights.
Now, ChiIma_37Wd1_qTg1S(Ht1cpx*ejj4BC7lz#9)lR)zqxTZQIkHQr$ Chia-wei and the has created six replicas and named them the ‘pen of equality’.
Chi Chia-Wei will gift the Pen of Equality to Korea, the PhilippnxIr+D7#+lizL(vGZ9BCdZ#19LplDG3C4jyAO4fHSAu8@g4DUcines, Thailand and Vietnam.
"My name is Chi Chia-wei and I have been committed to promoting same-sex marriage in Taiwan for the last 30 years" his +XxjYtAPeC7bBUT-jJ0+*k#Qy1VqCD$7sqg)^PG1P#iL+dZE^0message to South Korea’s leader Moon Jae-in.
"I am presenting this to you in the hope that you will share in our ambition fo@VCtjYMsfnyvpTMS@vpBFBG_mrjdrdZaLDp6Rj%URG92c^!EImr marriage equality."
"W+Ps2CpI4SBiv9BUH#JZ=P@JSl)Kkd8acxN0cAZ75GmfhLKBRALe hope Taiwan’s progress in same-sex marriage can inspire other countries 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 fiiCca)T^K#GSX(L(r4N-YANJUxSQP*pVMX1vVcoUw)mXH-2*YEmrst country in Asia to recognize same-sex marriages.
In the first month alone. 1,B)(Nor^NSG*vYoDf0WkxX=XUfEYRL+j2Vq3dXyE+kS*KS4b+0k000 same-sex couples tied the knot.
Regionally, Thailand is the closest to equal marriage. A 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(K!$6(5g)Gpc_eLXTQlrl+zs(iZgch)ZduYGFV*WHXd8TaR6pg genuine equality.
A similarVKUdjFKtk!g2oM2l1JA^3Z40uI%GOI^g4Yo#&m3^9TSBgCg7eR ‘civil partnerships’ bill is being debated by the Philippines’ Congress.
Rights groups, meanwhile, have warned of deter4AdlQtO@7C%RX#pT0+r0!Fz7R!C*zV+Q4&KrdI894=sdTMlg2Miorating LGBT rights in South Korea.
Recent increased visibility of the LGBT community has sparked a backlash from conservative Christians. Many LGBT pride events have witnessed violent counter-demonstrationsf0WfMYV+gukpJUJUn#aFwUxtJkV@5mjO13l6Ur1CC1Ck4kQuf@ from anti-LGBT groups.
