Legislator-at-large Jason Hsu (許毓仁) yesterday defended his stance on same-sex marriage legislation after members of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Standing Committee on Wednesday called for his expulsion from the party for breaking ranks in the debate.
Hsu proposed several amendments to the Civil Code along with Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Yu Mei-nu (尤美女) in November last year, and many KMT officials and lawmakers oppose the changes.
At Wednesday’s committee meeting, KMT legislative caucus convener Sufin Siluko (廖國棟) said that the majority of lawmakers were against amending the Civil Code and were in favor of drafting special legislation to deal with same-sex marriage issues.
Sufin said that regional legislators were willing to go either way on the issue, with their main concern being the level of support the changes would receive.
The legislative caucus “would have to follow” any stance that the KMT chose to represent it, Sufin said.
Hsu’s support for the movement to change the Civil Code could “cost the party everything,” committee member Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) said, adding that the party should not give up its interests because of one legislator-at-large.
“As a responsible political party, [the KMT] should stand on the side of the majority,” Lu said. “While I support homosexual rights and legislation for a special marriage law, the party should not seek to change the social structure of the majority for the rights of the minority.”
KMT Central Policy Committee Director Alex Tsai (蔡正元) said that marriage equality legislation was introduced by the DPP and the KMT must stand on the side of the public.
KMT Chairwoman Hung Hsiu-chu (洪秀柱) said that the party would take whatever action that is in the party’s interests.
Hsu took to Facebook yesterday, saying that an open attitude on the issue would not destroy the party.
“A political party improves when it can accept other values and is willing to engage in dialogue with groups that have different ideals,” Hsu said, adding that with sufficient communication, the party could find values that it agrees with.
Former KMT spokesman Yang Wei-chung (楊偉中), who was expelled by the party in June last year, criticized senior party members for dismissing Hsu’s proposals as being the prime cause for the party’s demise.
“So the KMT believes that it was not other pressing issues — such as party heavyweights occupying positions of power, the dummy party members issue, the mistakes that caused the party to lose favor with the people and be voted out of government, or the party’s stance on ultimate unification with China — that would ruin the party, but Hsu who helped repaint the party’s image in a good light in the eyes of the younger generation with his stance on same-sex marriage,” Yang said on Facebook.
“Let’s congratulate the KMT for obtaining its much-needed solidarity on this new value base,” Yang said with apparent sarcasm.
KMT chairperson candidate Steve Chan (詹啟賢) said that as the party’s greatest value is “diversity and inclusiveness,” it should respect differences of opinion and reflect on alternative opinions to show that it is not dominated by a single voice.
The dummy member issue refers to new KMT members — some with alleged links to organized crime — said to have joined solely to boost KMT chairperson candidates’ chances.
Additional reporting by Chen Yu-fu
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