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.
The combined effect of the monsoon, the outer rim of Typhoon Fengshen and a low-pressure system is expected to bring significant rainfall this week to various parts of the nation, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The heaviest rain is expected to occur today and tomorrow, with torrential rain expected in Keelung’s north coast, Yilan and the mountainous regions of Taipei and New Taipei City, the CWA said. Rivers could rise rapidly, and residents should stay away from riverbanks and avoid going to the mountains or engaging in water activities, it said. Scattered showers are expected today in central and
COOPERATION: Taiwan is aligning closely with US strategic objectives on various matters, including China’s rare earths restrictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan could deal with China’s tightened export controls on rare earth metals by turning to “urban mining,” a researcher said yesterday. Rare earth metals, which are used in semiconductors and other electronic components, could be recovered from industrial or electronic waste to reduce reliance on imports, National Cheng Kung University Department of Resources Engineering professor Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said. Despite their name, rare earth elements are not actually rare — their abundance in the Earth’s crust is relatively high, but they are dispersed, making extraction and refining energy-intensive and environmentally damaging, he said, adding that many countries have opted to
SUPPLY CHAIN: Taiwan’s advantages in the drone industry include rapid production capacity that is independent of Chinese-made parts, the economic ministry said The Executive Yuan yesterday approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion (US$1.44 billion) into domestic production of uncrewed aerial vehicles over the next six years, bringing Taiwan’s output value to more than NT$40 billion by 2030 and making the nation Asia’s democratic hub for the drone supply chain. The proposed budget has NT$33.8 billion in new allocations and NT$10.43 billion in existing funds, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said. Under the new development program, the public sector would purchase nearly 100,000 drones, of which 50,898 would be for civil and government use, while 48,750 would be for national defense, it said. The Ministry of
UNITED: The other candidates congratulated Cheng on her win, saying they hoped the new chair could bring the party to victory in the elections next year and in 2028 Former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmaker Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday won the party’s chair election with 65,122 votes, or 50.15 percent of the votes. It was the first time Cheng, 55, ran for the top KMT post, and she is the second woman to hold the post of chair, following Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱), who served from 2016 to 2017. Cheng is to succeed incumbent Eric Chu (朱立倫) on Nov. 1 for a four-year term. Cheng said she has spoken with the other five candidates and pledged to maintain party unity, adding that the party would aim to win the elections next year and
RSS