The Central Election Commission’s decision on Tuesday to approve three national referendum proposals against same-sex marriage came under fire yesterday from social activists and members of the public.
The commission said that two referendum proposals from Alliance for the Happiness of the Next Generation Alliance president Tseng Hsien-ying (曾獻瑩) and one from its convener, Yu Hsin-yi (游信義), were drafted in accordance with the law.
One of Tseng’s proposals asks people whether they think same-sex marriage is a right that should be granted by means other than amending the Civil Code — which governs marriage — while the other asks whether education about homosexuality at elementary and high schools mandated by the Gender Equity Education Act (性別平等教育法) should be abolished.
Photo: CNA
Yu asked people whether they support keeping the definition of marriage in the Civil Code as a union between a man and a woman.
“The Central Election Commission has made its darkest decision yet,” author Chen Fang-ming (陳芳明) said on Facebook.
“Having a public referendum on human rights is an insult to Taiwan’s democratic society, undercuts the Taiwanese values that we have long been so proud of and it is a slap in the face to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), who has publicly said: ‘My name is Tsai Ing-wen and I support marriage equality,’” he said.
Exiled Chinese democracy activist Wang Dan (王丹) also panned the commission’s decision on Facebook, saying: “It showed they [commission officials] are utterly ignorant of the Constitution’s protection of human rights.”
“Marriage is a constitutionally guaranteed fundamental right, like the freedom of speech; such rights are not determined by public referendums, but by the supreme court,” he said. “China is regressing to the Cultural Revolution. Taiwan should not follow that bad example in trying to reverse civilization.”
On Tuesday evening, Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR), a group that supports same-sex marriage, staged a demonstration outside the commission building.
Veteran gay rights advocate Chi Chia-wei (祁家威) — who filed the case that led to Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 in May last year, which ruled in favor of same-sex marriage as constitutional right — participated in the protest.
The commission’s ruling is unconstitutional, TAPCPR said, adding that its attorneys are considering suing the commission at an administrative court.
“Initially, Yu’s proposal to limit the definition of marriage and Tseng’s proposal to avoid protecting same-sex couples’ rights via the Civil Code raised concerns that they contradict Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748,” the commission said in a statement yesterday.
The constitutional interpretation states: “The freedom of marriage for two persons of the same sex shall be protected by the freedom of marriage under Article 22 of the Constitution.”
The commission also passed a referendum proposal suggested by former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) about legally penalizing top officials who pressure the judiciary.
His proposed referendum would ask whether presidents, lawmakers, Control Yuan members or other high-ranking officials who directly or indirectly pressure, lobby or improperly influence members of the judiciary to obtain a favorable court ruling for themselves or others should face legal penalties.
The four proposals need to obtain 280,000 signatures each to pass the reconfirmation stage of the referendum process, after which a referedum can be held.
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said it expects its 2-nanometer (2nm) chip capacity to grow at a compound annual rate of 70 percent from this year to 2028. The projection comes as five fabs begin volume production of 2-nanometer chips this year — two in Hsinchu and three in Kaohsiung — TSMC senior vice president and deputy cochief operating officer Cliff Hou (侯永清) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Silicon Valley, California, last week. Output in the first year of 2-nanometer production, which began in the fourth quarter of last year, is expected to
RSS