In October last year, Premier William Lai (賴清德) told the public that he had not given up on drafting a proposal to legalize same-sex marriage by the end of the year. He promised not to delay the issue and said he would do his best to push it forward.
While it would have taken a really naive person to take his words at face value, it is still disheartening that nothing has happened at all, with only three months left until the first anniversary of the historic ruling by the Council of Grand Justices instructing the government to legalize same-sex marriage.
In the meantime, Australia legalized same-sex marriage in December last year, while last month, the Taipei High Administrative Court rejected the third lesbian couple who attempted to register their marriage since October last year. The court said that since the amendments legalizing same-sex marriage had not cleared the legislature, it had no legal basis to approve the marriage application.
While same-sex couples would automatically be granted the right to marry once the two-year period stipulated by the council is over, the delay gives the opposition plenty of time to cook up schemes that are not likely to work, but are simply insulting to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community, as well as the Constitution, as restrictions on same-sex marriage have been ruled unconstitutional by the council.
When the Referendum Act (公民投票法) was amended in December last year, lowering the thresholds for initiating, seconding and passing referendums, it was almost expected that the groups opposed to gay marriage would jump on it to further their agenda.
They have wasted no time, as the Alliance for the Happiness of Future Generations on Friday last week submitted a proposal for a referendum on same-sex marriage, garnering 3,549 signatures — about 900 shy of the one that proposed changing the nation’s Olympic team name from “Chinese Taipei” to “Taiwan.”
The group urged the government to let the public decide whether to legalize same-sex marriage, saying that most Taiwanese do not support changing the definition of marriage in the Civil Code, which appears based on its own survey conducted prior to the ruling.
Nevertheless, the law trumps public opinion and even the most conservative poll conducted before the ruling showed that 52 percent of Taiwanese supported same-sex marriage.
There is no point arguing against these groups, as they are not likely to stop even after gay marriage is formally legalized, but it just continues to highlight that the government has not taken action to turn the ruling into law.
The government is not helping itself by continuing to brush aside the gay marriage issue.
Taking action on same-sex marriage is a simple way for the government to show sincerity and salvage some of its reputation.
Same-sex unions would be legalized in May next year in any case, unless the government has other ideas, as Lai might or might not have suggested late last year when he said that it will take time to seek appropriate proposals due to societal reservations on the issue.
People should not dismiss the issue of gay marriage only because it will eventually be legalized. It is a human rights issue, and the long wait is simply agonizing to the LGBT community — many of whom desperately need to marry for legitimate, practical reasons — and the people who support them in their fight for equality.
The gutting of Voice of America (VOA) and Radio Free Asia (RFA) by US President Donald Trump’s administration poses a serious threat to the global voice of freedom, particularly for those living under authoritarian regimes such as China. The US — hailed as the model of liberal democracy — has the moral responsibility to uphold the values it champions. In undermining these institutions, the US risks diminishing its “soft power,” a pivotal pillar of its global influence. VOA Tibetan and RFA Tibetan played an enormous role in promoting the strong image of the US in and outside Tibet. On VOA Tibetan,
By now, most of Taiwan has heard Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an’s (蔣萬安) threats to initiate a vote of no confidence against the Cabinet. His rationale is that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)-led government’s investigation into alleged signature forgery in the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) recall campaign constitutes “political persecution.” I sincerely hope he goes through with it. The opposition currently holds a majority in the Legislative Yuan, so the initiation of a no-confidence motion and its passage should be entirely within reach. If Chiang truly believes that the government is overreaching, abusing its power and targeting political opponents — then
On a quiet lane in Taipei’s central Daan District (大安), an otherwise unremarkable high-rise is marked by a police guard and a tawdry A4 printout from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicating an “embassy area.” Keen observers would see the emblem of the Holy See, one of Taiwan’s 12 so-called “diplomatic allies.” Unlike Taipei’s other embassies and quasi-consulates, no national flag flies there, nor is there a plaque indicating what country’s embassy this is. Visitors hoping to sign a condolence book for the late Pope Francis would instead have to visit the Italian Trade Office, adjacent to Taipei 101. The death of
As the highest elected official in the nation’s capital, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) is the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) candidate-in-waiting for a presidential bid. With the exception of Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕), Chiang is the most likely KMT figure to take over the mantle of the party leadership. All the other usual suspects, from Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) to New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) to KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) have already been rejected at the ballot box. Given such high expectations, Chiang should be demonstrating resolve, calm-headedness and political wisdom in how he faces tough
RSS