More than half of Taiwanese are in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage, but lean toward the promulgation of a new act to achieve the goal, according to a survey released yesterday by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which called for public hearings to be held to solicit more opinions.
The poll, conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday last week by Trend Survey and Research at the behest of the KMT, found that 51.7 percent of respondents supported amendments aimed at legalizing homosexual unions, compared with 43.3 percent who disapproved.
As for the issue of how to legalize same-sex marriage, 53.3 percent of those polled said they preferred promulgating a “civil partnership bill,” while 32.2 percent said they favored amending the Civil Code.
Photo: CNA
Only 0.4 percent of the respondents supported both approaches, with 4.9 percent liking neither, the survey showed.
Among the respondents 64.1 percent said they think that having a separate law would not discriminate against homosexuals; 25.5 percent said it would be a problem, while 63.3 percent said that legislative efforts should only be made after supplementary measures were put in place — given that amendments to the Civil Code could involve a wide range of legal rights — and 21.4 percent disagreed.
The poll asked respondents whether they could accept the removal of the terms “husband and wife,” “man and woman,” and “father and mother” from government documents, with 54 percent saying they did not approve and 39.6 percent saying it would be acceptable.
A majority said that marriage as it has been defined throughout history is conducive to the public interest, with 52.2 percent agreeing that procreation is central to the institution, which would exclude same-sex couples from marriage because they cannot bear children without a third party.
Forty percent said that the definition of marriage did hold procreation as a central tenet.
When it came to homosexual family members, 48.7 percent said they could not accept such a situation, while 46.1 percent said they could.
The survey collected 1,070 valid samples.
It has a confidence level of 95 percent and a margin of error of 3 percentage points.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee Deputy Director Hu Wen-chi (胡文琦) said that as opponents of same-sex marriage have resorted to various channels to express their opinions, the issue requires a much more extensive discussion to reach a higher level of public consensus.
“The government should hold more public hearings to ensure that the issue is fully discussed,” Hu said, urging the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) to refrain from playing “good cop, bad cop” to fool the public, an apparent reference to DPP caucus whip Ker Chien-ming’s (柯建銘) remarks last week that the DPP was leaning toward enacting a separate bill, which prompted DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang (段宜康) to say that “Ker’s personal view dos not represent that of the DPP as a whole.”
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS