Several groups opposed to marriage equality yesterday filed a second appeal with the Taiwan High Administrative Court in a bid to overturn a constitutional interpretation that instructs the government to legalize same-sex marriage.
The groups, led by Alliance of Taiwan Religious Groups for the Protection of the Family secretary-general Chang Shou-yi (張守一), submitted a new petition against same-sex marriage after the court dismissed their first petition on Jan. 10.
“There were numerous illegalities and a clear violation of the law in the process that resulted in the issuance of last year’s Constitutional Interpretation No. 748,” Chang said. “Also, the interpretation and the reasons given by the Council of Grand Justices in its ruling contravene articles of the Constitution.”
Photo: CNA
“Therefore, we ask the High Administrative Court judges to have the conscience and moral integrity to rule on our appeal through their own independent stance, and not to cave in to political influence and forces of intimidation, and to reach a decision conforming to the freedoms and values of our democratic society,” he said.
The council should have turned down an application for a constitutional interpretation on same-sex marriage submitted by gay rights advocate Chi Chia-wei (祁家威) in August 2015, due to violations of legal procedure and the unconstitutional aspect of the process, Chang said.
Chang has been spearheading a campaign to rally groups that support traditional social and family values, and those representing various faiths.
Representatives from the Citizens Coalition to Safeguard Taiwan, the Alliance for the Happiness of Future Generations, itw999 Group and the Taiwan Civil Rights Solidarity Organization yesterday accompanied Chang as he submitted the application.
The groups have been fighting demands by lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender advocates for legal recognition of marriage between same-sex partners, which would give them the right to form a family, recognize them as heads of households and give them parental guardianship of children, along with inheritance and shared property ownership rights.
Members of the groups yesterday held up placards that read “The gay rights movement is devouring Taiwan,” “Once these discriminatory laws are approved, people will have no freedom of speech and no religious freedom” and “We want sexual liberation education out of our schools.”
Chang pointed at what he said were flaws and wrong interpretations by Wu Chen-huan (吳陳鐶), the judge who rejected the previous petition.
Wu said in his ruling that “the Council of Grand Justices exercised its judiciary authority to take up the constitutional interpretation [on Chi’s case]... The procedure was not under the authority of an administrative body, and its related litigation does not belong under the authority of the Taiwan High Administrative Court, which would have no right to rule on the case.”
‘CORNERED ENEMY’: China’s rise is threatening peace and stability, and the US would aim to restrict it with help from allies in the Asia-Pacific, Soong Hseik-wen said A draft bill on protecting Taiwan from invasion is likely to be passed by the US Congress, but it remains to be seen how US President Joe Biden’s administration would implement the act if it is passed, Taiwanese academics said on Sunday. US Senator Rick Scott and US Representative Guy Reschenthaler on Thursday reintroduced the proposed Taiwan Invasion Prevention Act, which was shelved in September last year due to the impending US presidential election. Arthur Ding (丁樹範), a professor at National Chengchi University’s College of International Affairs, and Soong Hseik-wen (宋學文), a professor at National Chung Cheng University’s Graduate Institute
CHANGING IT UP: With Bopomofo rarely used outside of Taiwan, the lawmaker said that Romanization would help the government in its internationalization efforts Tainan City Councilor Lee Chi-wei (李啟維) yesterday called for the use of Romanized spellings to make Taiwanese dialects and languages internationally recognizable. Speaking at a news conference in Tainan to mark International Mother Language Day, Lee said the use of zhuyin fuhao (注音符號, Mandarin phonetic symbols commonly known as Bopomofo) made it difficult to promote interest in, or recognition of, the nation’s dialects and languages, as the system is not commonly used outside of Taiwan. “The legislature has already passed the Development of National Languages Act (國家語言發展法), but under the current circumstances that act is like a candle in the wind,” he
CULTURAL CAPITAL: Taiwanese can act as ambassadors while teaching in the US, by exchanging views with their colleagues and friends, one Mandarin teacher said Most US students take Chinese classes because they want to know more about China, but Taiwanese teachers can make a change with more flexible pedagogic approaches and cultural exchanges, two local teachers said. Since the US last year canceled its Fulbright programs with China and Hong Kong, Taiwan has been granted a larger quota of scholarships, including the Foreign Language Teaching Assistant Fulbright Program, which is funded by the US Department of State and comanaged in Taiwan by the Foundation for Scholarly Exchange. American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen last month encouraged Taiwan to fill the gap left by the closures
CHINESE AGGRESSION: The bill seeks to empower Taiwan by calling for a free-trade pact and authorizing the US president to use military force to defend Taiwan US Senator Rick Scott and US Representative Guy Reschenthaler on Thursday reintroduced in the US Congress the Taiwan invasion prevention act, aiming to boost Taiwan’s ability to resist Chinese aggression. While the bill was introduced last year by Scott and former US representative Ted Yoho, it was not listed onto the formal agenda in the run-up to the US presidential election in November last year. “We can’t sit back and let Communist China continue to threaten our democratic ally Taiwan,” Scott, a Republican, wrote on Twitter, urging US President Joe Biden and other Democractic senators to “take a stand for democracy” and
RSS