About 1,500 supporters of same-sex marriage gathered outside the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday, as lawmakers negotiated versions of a bill to fulfill the requirements of the Council of Grand Justices’ Interpretation No. 748.
The council on May 24, 2017, ruled that the Civil Code’s prohibition of same-sex marriage is unconstitutional and set a two-year deadline for the law to be amended to allow marriage between partners of the same sex.
The rally, which was organized by LGBT rights group Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan, was held in support of the Executive Yuan’s version of the bill.
Photo: CNA
Pegatron Corp (和碩) chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢), actress Wen Chen-ling (溫貞菱) and director Yee Chih-yen (易智言) were among the celebrities at the rally.
The Executive Yuan’s bill is already a compromise for LGBT groups, who would not accept any other possibility, coalition chief coordinator Jennifer Lu (呂欣潔) said.
While the Cabinet’s bill is not perfect, as it does not guarantee “complete marriage equality,” it is a compromise that LGBT rights advocates are willing to make to end the dispute between those who support and oppose marriage equality, and out of respect for societal harmony, she said.
LGBT groups would not accept a bill that does not allow same-sex partners to register their marriage or become legal spouses, she said, adding that “unions” cannot replace marriage.
Meanwhile, the Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation hosted a news conference in Taipei calling on lawmakers not to force the passage of a same-sex marriage bill, saying that doing so would be against the will of the people.
The Legislative Yuan is required to enact legislation based on the principle that the Civil Code defines marriage as between a man and a woman, the group said, adding that this “new legislative principle” was introduced with the passage last year of Referendum No. 10, which asked: “Do you agree that the Civil Code should define marriage as the union between a man and a woman?”
The group urged the Legislative Yuan to adopt the “draft enforcement act of Referendum No. 12,” one of the three proposed bills.
The version, which was introduced by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆), would guarantee the right of two people of the same sex to live together, it said.
Lawmakers failed to reach a consensus during negotiations, but agreed to remove an article in Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Tai-hua’s (林岱樺) bill that would have given a same-sex couple’s relatives the right to request the annulment of their union.
The Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan is to host another rally outside the Legislative Yuan on Friday as lawmakers vote on the bills.
ONGOING PROBE: A former Military Intelligence Bureau colonel, major general and another colonel, as well as five other people, have been questioned by prosecutors The Taipei District Court yesterday ordered that a retired colonel from the Military Intelligence Bureau (MIB) calling himself Taiwan’s “first special agent” be detained and held incommunicado as part of an ongoing investigation into espionage allegations targeting at least three former bureau officials. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office was seeking to detain former MIB colonel Chang Chao-jan (張超然) over his alleged involvement in introducing retired agents to Chinese national security authorities and passing confidential documents to China. Chang’s actions, if proven, would contravene the National Security Act (國家安全法), which carries a prison term of three to 10 years, and the National Intelligence
The US House of Representatives’ China Task Force, launched by Republicans earlier this year, yesterday proposed the China task force act, a package of 137 pieces of legislation, seven of which involve Taiwan, in the hope of getting it passed before the 117th US Congress convenes on Jan. 3. The act encompasses a wide range of issues, including combatting Beijing’s influence around the globe, establishing the US’ dominance in determining 5G network standards and means for bringing UN members to task for abusing their influence within the UN system. The seven acts involving Taiwan address concerns such as the Taiwan Assurance Act
Chinese health authorities investigating a COVID-19 outbreak have said that they discovered live coronavirus on frozen food packaging, a finding that suggests the virus can survive in cold supply chains. The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention on Saturday said that it had found traces of live COVID-19 on the outer packaging of frozen cod in the eastern city of Qingdao, marking the first time that live coronavirus has been detected on the outside of refrigerated goods. Researchers were investigating the source of a cluster of cases linked to a hospital in Qingdao. Genetic traces had previously been found in samples of
A Chinese soldier apprehended earlier this week by the Indian Army after he strayed across a tense de facto border was on Tuesday night handed back to China, an Indian government source in New Delhi said yesterday. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) soldier had on Monday been captured in the Demchok area of eastern Ladakh, the Indian Army said in a statement. The Chinese military also released a statement, saying that Corporal Wang Yalong was handed over early yesterday. New Delhi on Monday said that it had detained Wang after he crossed into Indian-controlled territory, while China announced that Wang had gotten
RSS