The Cabinet’s same-sex marriage bill is biased against homosexual couples, as it does not protect their rights under the Civil Code, an advocacy group said yesterday in a protest in front of the Executive Yuan in Taipei.
The Executive Yuan on Thursday unveiled the draft “enforcement act of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748,” which, if passed by the Legislative Yuan, would allow two people of the same sex who are at least 18 years old to be legally married.
The bill is expected to go into effect on May 24, in compliance with Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 passed by the Council of Grand Justices on May 24, 2017, which set a two-year deadline for the passage of legal amendments or a new law to guarantee the constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
Photo: CNA
Marriage equality advocates have been divided in their response to the bill.
The bill reflects the interpretation’s spirit, but provisions related to the definition of kinship, adoption, marriage with foreigners, religious freedom and surrogacy should be revised or clarified, the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights said in a statement on Thursday.
However, the International Socialist Forward yesterday told a news conference that the bill discriminates against same-sex couples and should be rejected.
It neither contain the word “marriage” in its title, nor allows same-sex couples to adopt children who are not their direct relatives, group member Vincent Hsu (許偉育) said.
He does not agree with some groups’ notion that “it is better to have a bill first than to have a perfect one,” Hsu said, adding that the government should amend the Civil Code to better protect same-sex marriage.
“This is not the time to thank the Democratic Progressive Party for launching such a bill, but to join forces to fight homophobes, who would not stop bullying homosexuals,” he said.
After the news conference, the protesters marched to the Happiness of the Next Generation Alliance’s office and pasted Chinese-language leaflets outside the building’s walls.
“Striking down homophobic power so that homosexuals can have equal rights,” one of the leaflets read.
An participant also gave a speech that was streamed online.
The alliance on Friday said that the bill violates the results of three referendums that were held in November last year, when more than 7 million people voted in favor of a proposal that said marriage should be confined to a union between a woman and a man.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
RSS