Gay marriage advocates yesterday protested the registration rules of the Taipei United Marriage Ceremony event, as the city moved to establish a new, separate ceremony open to gay couples.
“Homosexuals desiring to marry should not be viewed as something to be quarantined and given ‘special treatment’ — they should be treated as members of society and as part of everyday life,” Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) chief executive officer and attorney Victoria Hsu (許秀雯) said.
Activists accompanied a lesbian couple who submitted registration forms for this year’s Taipei United Marriage Ceremony.
Photo: CNA
Taipei Department of Civil Affairs Commissioner Lan Shih-tsung (藍世聰), whose department is responsible for organizing the ceremony, yesterday reiterated that this year’s United Marriage ceremonies would not be open to gay couples because of concerns over conflicts with the law.
The Civil Code currently defines “marriage” as being between a man and a woman.
While the department said it hoped that homosexual couples could be allowed to participate in the ceremony and would “move in that direction,” there is currently no timeline for revising registration rules, he said.
Current city plans call on the government’s new Sexual Equality Office, which reports directly to the mayor’s office, to instead organize an alternative “free marriage” ceremony open to both homosexual and non-homosexual couples. This year is to be the first time such a ceremony has been sponsored by the city government.
“The United Marriage Ceremony is intended as a ‘blessing’ by the city government to city residents,” TAPCPR secretary-general Chien Chih-chieh (簡至潔) said. “Because marriage only legally takes effect after registration, the United Marriage Ceremony is just a symbolic ceremony.”
She said revising registration rules is within the purview of the city government.
Department of Welfare Commissioner Hsu Li-min (許立民), who also heads the Sexual Equality Office, said the city government’s main concern in holding a separate ceremony open to homosexual couples was current social attitudes, rather than legal concerns. Many heterosexual couples might be unwilling to participate in a United Marriage ceremony with homosexual couples, he said, adding that the city government hoped to gradually lead and change public opinion through the event.
Alliance of Religious Groups for the Love of Families Taiwan secretary-general Chang Shou-yi (張守一) said the city’s government decision to hold the ceremony would violate the spirit of the Civil Code. He said it was inappropriate for the government to try to “lead” public opinion on sexual behavior.
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS