Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus convener Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘), who has never stated his position regarding marriage equality, revealed that the party does not exclude the possibility of formulating a special civil partnership law rather than amending the Civil Code.
It has even been rumored that Ker and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) have reached an understanding that the two parties will jointly propose such a law. As soon as this rumor got out, it drew a backlash from lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups, also inspiring young political workers in the DPP to launch an online campaign titled: “Political workers support gay marriage — amend the Civil Code and fight for equal rights.”
The campaign’s preamble says: “This is not just a matter for gay people — it is everyone’s responsibility. We have a choice as to where this nation’s democratic values go from here.”
Meanwhile, the media have reported that many important young KMT aides and advisers are also working hard to promote the issue of marriage equality. This shows that marriage equality is no longer an issue between the pan-blue and pan-green camps in the legislature, but rather a bone of contention between different generations.
A few days before the Taiwan LGBT Pride Parade, DPP Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) and KMT Legislator Jason Hsu (許毓仁) proposed an amendment to the Civil Code and called on other lawmakers to sign it, while the New Power Party (NPP) caucus proposed a similar amendment. From their responses it is obvious that, regardless of whether they belong to the KMT or the DPP, the legislators who are trying to get this message across within their respective parties are the so-called “progressive” or “young generation” lawmakers.
From the DPP, legislators Yu, Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康), Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀), Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘), Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and others have been on the front line to speak in favor of draft amendments during negotiations in the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee.
KMT legislators Hsu, Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) and Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) are among the few who have been willing to meet with LGBT advocacy groups and talk to other lawmakers who support this issue. As for KMT legislators Hsu Shu-hua (許淑華) and Lin Wei-chou (林為洲), who are under pressure to oppose amending the Civil Code, they have made their support felt during lobbying by gay groups and have clearly made an effort to understand.
As for the NPP, its support goes without saying, since it was firmly committed to amending the Civil Code before January’s elections and has remained so. That is because it knows that if members of the young generation are asked what they think about gay marriage, there are few who would say they do not support it.
Media reports have said that since 2013 there has been a significant change within the KMT regarding the issue of marriage equality. Many KMT legislative assistants have done a great deal to help their bosses gain a better understanding of this issue.
However, KMT Aboriginal legislators Sufin and Yosi Takun (孔文吉) joined hands to obstruct the proposals during a meeting of the committee on Nov. 17. Their obstruction caused a significant amount of dissatisfaction among young KMT staffers and legislative assistants, who feel that this is a rare opportunity for the KMT to present a progressive image, but this prospect was dismissed, shutting these young people out of the process.
Public opinion polls have shown that nearly 80 percent of people aged between 20 and 29 support marriage equality. Apart from the fact that nearly everyone has gay and lesbian friends, another important reason is that young people would like their children to live in an environment of equality and diversity.
Following the 2014 Sunflower movement against the cross-strait trade in services agreement, Taiwanese yearn even more than before for a political environment of fairness, justice, openness and transparency, and one that strongly values human rights.
For people under 40, marriage equality is not just a matter for gay and lesbian people, but also an important reflection of Taiwan’s democratic values and of a society that respects diversity and tolerates differences.
Hopefully the KMT and DPP will firmly grasp this opportunity to prove to young people that they are trustworthy, rather than once again confirming that politicians election campaign promises are nothing but hot air.
Jennifer Lu is a senior research associate with the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline.
Translated by Julian Clegg
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