News / Sep. 02, 2019
Newlywed same-sex couples in Taiwan!CAFXbkwueXv^(rJJBb7r7rtf8=0vL5)gM_%q*XF=swVhWp2mt marked 100 days of marriage equality this weekend.
Taiwan became the first country in Asia *CpCabo#MBma8SgDLvH9q#@g&wXg^vm2sSUFfjUCJhPKPZRDdYto recognize same-sex unions on 24 May.
It came after years of court hearings, debates in parliament, and hear@)ZqdjJG0&uadeLf@1HjjNufPP0S#ue=YohSeCM1c+wUwcLvbbtbreaking referendums in November last year.
But, in the first mont@PkshxDoNW&@0fw7ux1O4UT_eEpFJ)U7T@BThU$d1en=&nCaCth alone, at least 1,000 same-sex couples tied the knot.
Some of the first couples to marry in Asia shared their experienHKq*bFZ%T!+Lm2Ma#6*w!R=EUo!I4TC+o@g(WJ4vM3AJOu^WZvces in commemorative social media posts.
“Cherish happiness"
Chen Xue, who married her wife in May, wrote that the most profound feelQpFS$rdhmVy6dpT#w7%GuGW4r49x-cFLpDTlmt@T@YE_(YJmcJing over the last 100 days was people in her hometown sharing their best wishes in a wedding book.
“I was amazed” she said. “It should be like this”.
"In the day9!BFunKavYhASG+J5SKE0K%6NFK=5!T-B@^bnp2QuYoJE5W+r-s to come, whoever marries who, there will be no need to make a fuss, only blessings”.
((Phot_SvNl^JzJ**0mcQUIT8ZPIpJ(2XvanFpuwYi5CipoVAgad6Di3o: Xue and Antonia Chen share an embrace after getting married. / Provided))
Sh*+K=%1NX2-JIVk!HJ(ajt^_3wHrC7bqr00APCHJ-HR4a(-aNpSane and Marc, meanwhile, wrote on their joint Facebook account that they are more comfortable holding hands on the street than before marriage was legal.
(Photo: Marc and Shin / Facebook)
They also told of a story of encountering three men in Shilin night Q4($EalKAil5oRMOo*rqkjrs$hJzFWP6-TtKbN!T7W3=)Z4ZMWmarket.
They expected the men to make a homophobic comment, but instead they told them to be halm)bj1hy+o4Qf0Da@notknFR=&AFC1lgFkRl=3lnSSvZNNV+8ippy.
“We think that maybe this is the true meaning of marriage” the pair wrote. “Everyone can truly understand the meaning of )WHHord9MAD0z#iAW@skdNe6@IGTn(u*%7P0c)dkDbqtrn7IjRlove”.
Well-known cJOZq#i)#DHO7!+e(Ga8PnJbB=7FOUTom+hT2a1O@q(nK&XxgWzartoonist, Cynical Chick, who married LiYing Chien in May, also shared a story of positive acceptance.
((Photo: Cynical Chick and LiYing!ocCj56WFbvVQgU#YeR7!rvU)X*YDCcBfgkc%0ny2P(==-M!^T Chien register their marriage in May / Provided))
She recalled how when she was opening a joint a bk9_3eO+5-$WagfA2Iv@vGXFK-qbG)Xlkjr-g+mp&RDqDaqJ2(Qank account with her new wife, the bank clerk asked her if she was in a same-sex marriage.
He said he would go home to tell his sister, who is not out, that he’d opened a bank account for a lesbian couple. “So she’ll know she’s not a5nwC)ID+@IGahd4TqaT=mix5XslJBhQ_@dxE1peEze58uww^OAlone” he explained.
"It's been a hundred days since we were married, and we are very happy and cheris(W6ai#5jRNiEG=PJ$3IyejbIff8dg@+(SxgoHB^K%e60KyQuaeh such happiness."
How did Taiwan legalize same-sex marriage?
Taiwan’s parliament benR1c3gyi&CU&7gk#h!x&mAHPaLshDCIwVISCZwzKc*XU0r98LJcame the first in Asia to pass a same-sex marriage bill on 17 May.
The government bill, which largely avoids the term ‘marriage’, had been labeled a compromise by LGBTI rigG^jfOH(WiQTACsly5a)3K)1&eNZCDLFQVbW*CYYDlf!Mv6+rHwhts campaigners.
In 2017, the country’s highest court ruledc+pAEc&0&I=7z!&eT8oO!5Qh1NT7+X^Hqjz#4ZQhteJt)x=e4Z the Civil Code was unconstitutional for failing to recognize same-sex marriage.
But, in a bitterly-fought referendum, most Taiwanese citizens opted for a separarXq2Ym7aEifZYGUniryZm9HI%)RR%EQE4xF9DhuYfHRnJGikEate marriage law rather than changing the civil code which would have brought genuine equality.
LGBTI rights campaigners accused conservative and Christian groups of running a well-funded campaign of hate and scare-moqBeomrFs@#Izk*EMkQ(K9=d!8N(bnbf-jO(+Z6n7HD$Rwa-G#Lngering.
Taiwan’s parliament voted in favor of a government bill offering same-sex couples similar rights to opposite-sex couples after years of court rulings, referendummdC1I)QkA3SkwOwUPK#bJbw!_Gfh-RHCRieE=x%sJ=ywY^^^Bes, and tussles in parliament.
The crucial 4th line of the bill passed with XafPM7_B!Vx(NEm3v-tf6mDdGPtnAk0s^#C&0C@)J!aQnZ@Lw!93 lawmakers voting for the bill, 66 opposing, and 27 abstaining.
((Photo: One of the couples to marry on 2QYEZClF^!*wfLi#U$wiiGpfbj&y#z-u%D%fIQbZdfL(2a((5y94 May. / Provided))
Thousands of LGBTI rights supporters gathered outside parebbfYEMK1Myr4IT=Ppncc(2=+t0KB8E7Rny78WlMIlikpx7htpliament and cheered as the vote was announced.
In a last-m0UUhaK9rgpG0pMmz1uF9f=gASMMSdi*SY!eIvYi^l1-KJ6E3IYinute effort to appease conservative lawmakers, Taiwan’s ruling party removed the word ‘marriage’ from the bill.
But, same-sex couples can still get register for marriage in the same way as other couples. Couples can only adopt children if the cb-T^kpzWy#t85knwAbMPN8ImyKj#flufLlKj(MN%mT!Axi0k@yhild is the biological child of one of the couple.
Taiwanese citizens can only marry people of the same-sex that come from a country (there are 26 of them) that has legalized same-sex marriage.
Taiwan is the regional leader for LGBTI rights. Thailand’s ruling junta is likely to pass a bill affording limited rights to same-sex couples.
