A “same-sex union” bill drafted by HTC chairwoman Cher Wang’s (王雪紅) Faith, Hope and Love Foundation and sponsored by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lin Tai-hua (林岱樺) yesterday advanced to a second reading.
The DPP caucus at a plenary session successfully moved to advance the bill, titled the “draft enforcement act for Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748 and Referendum No. 12,” to a second reading.
The New Power Party caucus filed a separate motion to return the bill to the Procedural Committee, which was struck down.
Photo: Huang Yao-cheng, Taipei Times
The result was in line with a decision reached during cross-caucus negotiations on Thursday that all three bills on the issue be reviewed side-by-side during another round of negotiations.
DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) said that the next round of negotiations could begin next week, as the deadline set by the interpretation nears.
It is to be reviewed alongside the Executive Yuan’s “enforcement act of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748” and another sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) on behalf of the conservative Happiness of the Next Generation Alliance, both of which proceeded to a second reading in March.
Referendum No. 12, which was voted on alongside the nine-in-one elections on Nov. 24 last year, asked voters: “Do you agree that the right to persons of the same sex to create a permanent union should be guaranteed by an institution other than marriage as defined by the Civil Code?”
It passed after garnering 6.4 million “yes” votes to 4.07 million “no” votes.
Lin’s version of the bill uses the term “same-sex union,” while the Cabinet’s version uses “same-sex marriage.”
The latter is in line with the Council of Grand Justices’ interpretation passed on May 24, 2017, which declared the lack of language guaranteeing the right of same-sex couples to get married in the Civil Code unconstitutional, and required that a law or amendment be introduced to legalize same-sex marriage within two years.
Although supporters of Lin’s version have said that it is a compromise between the other two versions, DPP legislators Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) and Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) said otherwise.
Yu on Thursday called Lin’s version “stark discrimination” against same-sex couples.
The version contains a “fake marriage” clause that would authorize prosecutors or social welfare agencies to request that a court intervene and abrogate a same-sex union if relatives within three degrees of consanguinity of either member of the union believe that it was not for the purpose of two people “living life together,” Yu said on Facebook, questioning what right people have to scrutinize the sincerity of others’ marriage.
The version also has a clause that says: “As one’s conscience and freedom should not be affected by the enactment of this act, conveying or inculcating beliefs against the relationship described in Article 2 [same-sex union] does not constitute discrimination,” she said.
Tuan said that he despises all lawmakers who sponsored or cosponsored the bill, regardless of their party affiliation.
EUROPEAN TARGETS: The planned Munich center would support TSMC’s European customers to design high-performance, energy-efficient chips, an executive said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday said that it plans to launch a new research-and-development (R&D) center in Munich, Germany, next quarter to assist customers with chip design. TSMC Europe president Paul de Bot made the announcement during a technology symposium in Amsterdam on Tuesday, the chipmaker said. The new Munich center would be the firm’s first chip designing center in Europe, it said. The chipmaker has set up a major R&D center at its base of operations in Hsinchu and plans to create a new one in the US to provide services for major US customers,
‘ABUSE OF POWER’: Lee Chun-yi allegedly used a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon and take his wife to restaurants, media reports said Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) resigned on Sunday night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by the media. Control Yuan Vice President Lee Hung-chun (李鴻鈞) yesterday apologized to the public over the issue. The watchdog body would follow up on similar accusations made by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and would investigate the alleged misuse of government vehicles by three other Control Yuan members: Su Li-chiung (蘇麗瓊), Lin Yu-jung (林郁容) and Wang Jung-chang (王榮璋), Lee Hung-chun said. Lee Chun-yi in a statement apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a
BEIJING’S ‘PAWN’: ‘We, as Chinese, should never forget our roots, history, culture,’ Want Want Holdings general manager Tsai Wang-ting said at a summit in China The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday condemned Want Want China Times Media Group (旺旺中時媒體集團) for making comments at the Cross-Strait Chinese Culture Summit that it said have damaged Taiwan’s sovereignty, adding that it would investigate if the group had colluded with China in the matter and contravened cross-strait regulations. The council issued a statement after Want Want Holdings (旺旺集團有限公司) general manager Tsai Wang-ting (蔡旺庭), the third son of the group’s founder, Tsai Eng-meng (蔡衍明), said at the summit last week that the group originated in “Chinese Taiwan,” and has developed and prospered in “the motherland.” “We, as Chinese, should never
‘A SURVIVAL QUESTION’: US officials have been urging the opposition KMT and TPP not to block defense spending, especially the special defense budget, an official said The US plans to ramp up weapons sales to Taiwan to a level exceeding US President Donald Trump’s first term as part of an effort to deter China as it intensifies military pressure on the nation, two US officials said on condition of anonymity. If US arms sales do accelerate, it could ease worries about the extent of Trump’s commitment to Taiwan. It would also add new friction to the tense US-China relationship. The officials said they expect US approvals for weapons sales to Taiwan over the next four years to surpass those in Trump’s first term, with one of them saying
RSS