Some of the world’s largest companies on Wednesday said that plans to grant equal marriage to LGBT couples in Taiwan would boost the country’s economy.
The Legislative Yuan is expected to vote on bills concerning same-sex marriage by May 24, a deadline set by the Council of Grand Justices when it ruled in 2017 that same-sex couples could legally wed.
Google, Airbnb, Deutsche Bank, Ernst & Young, Mastercard and Microsoft have joined forces with nine other companies, including Taiwan-based O-Bank, to laud the benefits of same-sex weddings.
Photo: Hung Jui-chin, Taipei Times
“We value diversity, inclusivity, respect, equality and non-discrimination, as well as seek to protect these values within our company and while working with our business partners,” Microsoft Taiwan enterprise public lead Patrick Pan (潘先國) said.
“We do so not only because it is the right thing to do, but also because it can make our company and society stronger and more successful,” Pan said.
Economists have said that the benefits of same-sex marriage include increased productivity, greater labor mobility and less stress in the workplace over perceived discrimination.
According to 2016 research from Swiss bank Credit Suisse, the performance of a basket of 270 companies that supported LGBT policies was on average 3 percent higher than that of the MSCI All Country World Index, which measures global stock movements.
Taiwan is set to become the first country in Asia to allow same-sex marriage following a 2017 ruling by the council that the prohibition of same-sex marriage in the Civil Code was unconstitutional.
However, a referendum on whether to support the legalization of same-sex marriage through amendments to the Civil Code was defeated in November last year.
Under the council’s terms, lawmakers have until May 24 to pass legislation that would allow same-sex couples to wed.
If the Legislative Yuan fails to act, same-sex marriage would automatically become legal.
“Leveraging different perspectives fuels innovation, fosters collaboration and strengthens relationships,” said Andrew Fuh (傅文芳), managing partner for Ernst & Young, Taiwan. “This is why we believe that each of us has a role to play in advancing diversity and inclusion.”
The Legislative Yuan is considering two bills offering couples differing rights ahead of the May 24 deadline.
Passing marriage equality would send a message to the world that “Taiwan is open for business,” Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan chief coordinator Jennifer Lu (呂欣潔) said.
Beijing could eventually see a full amphibious invasion of Taiwan as the only "prudent" way to bring about unification, the US Department of Defense said in a newly released annual report to Congress. The Pentagon's "Annual Report to Congress: Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China 2025," was in many ways similar to last year’s report but reorganized the analysis of the options China has to take over Taiwan. Generally, according to the report, Chinese leaders view the People's Liberation Army's (PLA) capabilities for a Taiwan campaign as improving, but they remain uncertain about its readiness to successfully seize
Taiwan is getting a day off on Christmas for the first time in 25 years. The change comes after opposition parties passed a law earlier this year to add or restore five public holidays, including Constitution Day, which falls on today, Dec. 25. The day marks the 1947 adoption of the constitution of the Republic of China, as the government in Taipei is formally known. Back then the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) governed China from Nanjing. When the KMT, now an opposition party in Taiwan, passed the legislation on holidays, it said that they would help “commemorate the history of national development.” That
Taiwan has overtaken South Korea this year in per capita income for the first time in 23 years, IMF data showed. Per capita income is a nation’s GDP divided by the total population, used to compare average wealth levels across countries. Taiwan also beat Japan this year on per capita income, after surpassing it for the first time last year, US magazine Newsweek reported yesterday. Across Asia, Taiwan ranked fourth for per capita income at US$37,827 this year due to sustained economic growth, the report said. In the top three spots were Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, it said. South
Police today said they are stepping up patrols throughout the Taipei MRT system, after a social media user threatened to detonate a bomb at an unspecified station this afternoon. Although they strongly believe the threat to be unsubstantiated, Taipei Metro police and the Railway Police Bureau still said that security and patrols would be heightened through the system. Many copycat messages have been posted since Friday’s stabbing attacks at Taipei Main Station and near Zhongshan MRT Station that left three dead and 11 injured, police said. Last night, a Threads user in a post said they would detonate a bomb on the Taipei
RSS