The legislature: Marriage proposal criticized

A lawmaker said yesterday she opposes government plans to amend civil codes that would replace "wedding rituals" with registration as the legal means to determine people's marital status. KMT Legislator Chiang Yi-wen (江綺雯) said the proposed measure would undermine the significance attached to marriage.On Tuesday the Ministry of Justice proposed revising marital codes that would require couples to go through a registration process to proclaim their status as husband and wife. Under current rules, couples are only required to have an open wedding ceremony with at least two witnesses present to be considered married. Chiang said the planned change would cause people to take marriage too lightly. "Public wedding ceremonies allow the newlyweds to receive blessings from family and friends," she said. "The time-honored custom is too precious to be done away with." Government officials say the change is necessary to help fight polygamy among Taiwanese businessmen in China and legal disputes arising from the practice.