News / Sep. 02, 2019
Newlywed same-sex couples in Taiwan marked 100 days of marriage wKJZQP6cOohB)oh+pS3b7)TP)[email protected]_d+BBLoHFKequality this weekend.
Taiwan became the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex unions on 24 May[email protected]+GI_&+AT!T%&TP7ZB^R-bvK)bW%.
It came after years of court hearings, debates in parliament, and heartb%aT!TzRJTa%w2elTLmH$z!98j!rFH1g2#Wm+f2_UOEz=-YRH%#reaking referendums in November last year.
But, in t_X-YNaxyg(jk2^=mt4sR%X=RkFrMI&f7V$Vo#7ohWRzWKdqQPAhe first month alone, at least 1,000 same-sex couples tied the knot.
Some of the firCdk1p37fAUC^zqns5L1gmL2Guot$CXTRoNydhEySJ+R&Sqfi1bst couples to marry in Asia shared their experiences in commemorative social media posts.
“Cherish happiness"
Chen Xue, who married her wife in May, wrote that the most profound feeling over the last 100 days was people in her hometown sharing their bes6XqyDv6GAw&u=#OrUk7KH))a1OrBaK(rUAXzlz!eR&-QMG2tvCt wishes in a wedding book.
“I was amazed” she said. “It should be like this”.
"In the days to come, whoever marries who, there will be no need6vP#[email protected]&FY#*mcXw5H_0-gA*=BRv7S4U^%n*[email protected] to make a fuss, only blessings”.
((Photo: Xue and Antonia Chen share an embrace after getting marriedrg&4tK)eCsOK1bokk#*@[email protected]@3+i_Y%xmC1Ho-r_CCXc-(zJfh. / Provided))
Shane and Ma07(jURIw4(&W(i6QLuSAH!+s2e+-1$fdAS+2eN8z$)P706T2Gfrc, meanwhile, wrote on their joint Facebook account that they are more comfortable holding hands on the street than before marriage was legal.
(Photo: Marc and Shin / Facebook)
They also told of a story of encounteringzv3Mf!ZnTtl60Z4F+8s0^hb3dJaoqO+z79H$is(nBi7YEmIx8M three men in Shilin night market.
They expected the men to make a homophobic comment, but instead they tSwYi2zA)[email protected]+rL%xsPEstwold them to be happy.
“We think that maybe this is the true meaning of marriage” the pair w3FeTb0W(Ybq!8izD4X4)[email protected]*Xw^YExAi&PVG6jwd-1u5Q$wrote. “Everyone can truly understand the meaning of love”.
Well-known cartoonist, Cynical Chick, whohqtk20uNSTYcA$HYMD^%-0xS7nW_zRuQ3$^3!xE5*u#4BZHT$h married LiYing Chien in May, also shared a story of positive acceptance.
((Photo: Cynical Chick and LiYing Chien register their e8IMa6$EaAKkt26ZWORoRB0abuF+rKna^!7^5=D*drkXq87Yxmmarriage in May / Provided))
She recalled how when she was open(4xl&^[email protected]!UwCmVN)f(k410j6U3J=3r8HSYg8s%Bzbcing a joint a bank account with her new wife, the bank clerk asked her if she was in a same-sex marriage.
He said he would go home to tell his sister, who is not out, that he’d opened a bank account for a lesbia!n_lM%NOTG2njx6=HR3CPH4*QnhjU!(785YWwrSJ%+n=fg0Pw_n couple. “So she’ll know she’s not alone” he explained.
"It's been a hundred days since we were married, and we are ver^vXZf42owGxSNPidHbzb1UQwq_er(qC=vo2Z1zGi9OHRJTCKwUy happy and cherish such happiness."
How did Taiwan legalize same-sex marriage?
Taiwan’s par2$hvI&eMPEoOUy=P5X)9EkMOj5w3y1oQ78HROmVwi7#JnBWHz!liament became the first in Asia to pass a same-sex marriage bill on 17 May.
The government bill, which largely avoids the term ‘mar$Rd7uL5LbBG492TvO5dP8(BAoDS$%Iw^$GeR4OaxoEVO99EljQriage’, had been labeled a compromise by LGBTI rights campaigners.
In 2017, the country’s highest court ruled the Civil Code was unconstitutional for failing to recognize samezqtw#!JBXj8WCdVmgU71lF-F(=^#[email protected]#7iiIaxn-sex marriage.
But, in a bitterly-fought referendum, most Taiwanese citizens opted for a separate marriage law rather than changing the civil code which would have brought genuineKHqARbCPQIvvQ*n-KDT!rU#m1bIyOxnw79YQ5m-JRe!y5S^A4e equality.
LGBTI rights campaigners accused conservative and Christian groups of run!5+LAD0ugnIGnC*[email protected]^sq2mwE#5XtSmAning a well-funded campaign of hate and scare-mongering.
Taiwan’s parliament vote4Sx(NI7em(=FOkvL2vCw+)sNcejbVlLAkONi*DKfvLJ#e=!*%Id in favor of a government bill offering same-sex couples similar rights to opposite-sex couples after years of court rulings, referendums, and tussles in parliament.
The fP$-A10Mp0W5sgyi-c-e)jInhpKwYIk_w#td%ZC))s&Me21Ogccrucial 4th line of the bill passed with 93 lawmakers voting for the bill, 66 opposing, and 27 abstaining.
((Photo: One of the couplwvMxYBVPuhYuqrxJpTCu)SkGCjp0(5g(aCuU9BU&*[email protected]es to marry on 24 May. / Provided))
Thousands of LGBTI rights supporters gathered [email protected]+M0P*x*7j!geB4Tit!ul2f$jVkA3(=ZB6gdP$i(Houtside parliament and cheered as the vote was announced.
In a last-minute effort to appease conservative lawmakers, Taiwan’s ruling party removed the word ‘marriage’ fr&t#Nv^KpsrNRt#dyZSOC$WFPig*d7XixHBntc8H735RS5$In3fom the bill.
But, same-sex couples can still get register for marriage in the same way as other couples. Couples can oglI-uk33LAW=vNPM%f!jP=xN3n%5w2wQxKXf91Q9%m%*Op!T4snly adopt children if the child 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.
