Veteran gay rights activist Chi Chia-wei (祁家威) yesterday filed an application for a constitutional review of the nation’s marriage laws, his second time doing so in his 30-year campaign for the right to marry his partner.
Chi’s application came on the heels of a stalled legislative review on Monday of a bill that aims to legalize same-sex marriage, which saw opposing rallies clash outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei while the issue was debated inside.
Backed by more than a dozen lawyers, as well as activists from the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR), Chi said that the laws that bar same-sex couples from marrying are a violation of their constitutional rights.
Photo: David Chang, EPA
With the legislature controlled by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), gay rights advocates say that the legislative path toward legalizing same-sex marriage remains difficult, while the judicial path might provide a viable alternative.
As one of the first openly gay social activists during the Martial Law era, Chi was arrested in 1986 when he filed a petition to the legislature demanding same-sex marriage be legalized, which led to him being imprisoned for five months.
Between 1998 and 2000, Chi went through multiple failed attempts to seek legal recognition for same-sex marriage, leading to his first application for a constitutional review.
Chi’s 2000 application was stalled indefinitely by the Grand Council of Justices and never went through a thorough review, he said.
More than a decade later, Chi and his partner tried to register as a married couple again in March last year, after a campaign to seek the recognition of another gay couple — Chen Ching-hsueh (陳敬學) and Kao Chih-wei (高治偉) — was halted abruptly, following reported death threats to their family members.
After local government agencies refused to register his partnership as a marriage, Chi fought his way through successive levels in court.
The attempt ultimately ended in failure in September, when the Supreme Administrative Court ruled that according to the Civil Code, marriage should be between a man and a woman.
“At the time [in 2000], I stood alone in battle, but I’m glad that more than 10 lawyers are willing to come forward and aid me in my application for a constitutional review today,” Chi said, holding back tears. “I am deeply grateful, and I would like to express my respect.”
In a spontaneous gesture to express his gratitude, Chi kneeled on the ground before the volunteer lawyers, before being swiftly pulled up.
Chi expressed his disappointment over remarks made by the Ministry of Justice and anti-gay marriage legislators during the legislative meeting on Monday.
“Medical evidence has already proved that gays and lesbians are not abnormal people, but we still have a group of homophobic officials and legislators that treat homosexuality like a disease,” Chi said. “[Their actions] have obstructed homosexuals in the pursuit of their own happiness.”
TAPCPR president Victoria Hsu (許秀雯) said constitutional review applications usually have no fixed timetable, while prospects also remain unclear on whether the Marriage Equality Amendment would resume its review at the legislature during the next legislative session, which is to begin in February.
Hsu said the group plans to demand candidates in the 2016 presidential election profess their stance on gay marriage, saying that the issue has garnered enough attention to create a significant impact on public debate.
Alliance members said that according to several recent opinion polls, more than 50 percent of Taiwanese back same-sex marriage, while more than 80 percent of young people aged between 20 and 29 are supportive of the cause.
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
‘MISGUIDED EDICT’: Two US representatives warned that Somalia’s passport move could result in severe retaliatory consequences and urged it to reverse its decision Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) has ordered that a special project be launched to counter China’s “legal warfare” distorting UN Resolution 2758, a foreign affairs official said yesterday. Somalia’s Civil Aviation Authority on Wednesday cited UN Resolution 2758 and Mogadishu’s compliance with the “one China” principle as it banned people from entering or transiting in the African nation using Taiwanese passports or other Taiwanese travel documents. The International Air Transport Association’s system shows that Taiwanese passport holders cannot enter Somalia or transit there. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) protested the move and warned Taiwanese against traveling to Somalia or Somaliland
Four former Hong Kong opposition lawmakers jailed in the territory’s largest national security case were released yesterday after more than four years in prison, the first among dozens convicted last year to regain their freedom. Former legislators Claudia Mo (毛孟靜), Jeremy Tam (譚文豪), Kwok Ka-ki (郭家麒) and Gary Fan (范國威) were part of a group of 47 public figures — including some of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy advocates — who were charged with subversion in 2021 for holding an informal primary election. The case fell under a National Security Law imposed on the territory by Beijng, and drew international condemnation and warnings
RSS