A wedding photographer for 15 years, Chou Shang-hua (周尚樺) tied the knot with her sweetheart in an elaborate ceremony six years ago. The union was blessed by the families and friends of both partners. This most touching and sharing moment of their lives became a turning point in their careers as well, for it inspired Chou and her "wife" to open the Sunday Photo Studio (尚典攝影工作室), which provides wedding arrangements and photography services for gay couples who wish to enter into matrimony, even though same-sex marriage is still currently prohibited under Taiwanese law.
Over the past two years of operation, Chou said nine out of 10 of her clients were lesbian couples who wanted to express their love with the conventional trappings of marriage. She said that gay men were less willing to go public in this way as they are under more social pressure related to their "coming out."
Given the public's relatively conservative attitudes towards same-sex unions in Taiwan, the recent public wedding ceremony between Nelson Chen (陳敬學) and his lover A-wei was a significant event. It is only the third such public "marriage" between gay men in Taiwan. [The first was 10 years ago between writer Hsu You-sheng (許佑生) and his American partner.] Chen and A-wei's ceremony followed a big engagement ceremony on International Human Rights' Day last year that drew around 100 attendees, all of whom shared the same goal of raising public awareness about how
important it was to legalize same-sex marriage.
A full-time gay movement activist and the chairman of Taiwan's Gay and Lesbian Political Caucus (GLPC, 同志參政聯盟), Chen said by manifesting what belongs to the private domain on the level of the public sphere, he wants to challenge the traditional definitions of "family" and "marriage." He stressed that the primary aim of the nascent GLPC is to achieve the granting of the same legal rights to same-sex couples, as those granted to traditional unions between a man and a woman.
Legal Issues
Since 2001, the Ministry of Justice has been drafting a human rights basic law in which the most controversial stipulations are the abolition of the death penalty and recognition of same-sex marriage and homosexuals' rights to establish families and adopt children. The drafting of this law was first brought up in 2001, and international media immediately swooped on the news, eager to see whether or not Taiwan would become the first Asian country to legalize same-sex unions.
However, Wang Ping (王蘋), secretary-general of the Gender/Sexuality Rights Association in Taiwan (GSRAT, 台灣性別人權協會) that plays an active role in developing the draft law's contents, points out that the provisions of the draft are still under discussion, and are not scheduled to be put forward as a bill for another four years. Nevertheless, on the legal front, it is currently the only hope on the horizon for official recognition of same-sex unions.
To human rights groups and gay activists, there are two ways gay couples may achieve the same legal rights as heterosexual couples: one is to amend the marriage regulations under the Civil Law (民法), and the other to create a new law governing same-sex unions. It is commonly agreed that amending the Civil Law is less feasible as there will be more than 100 regulations to be amended and it will likely "hurt the feelings of conservatives," as Ashley Wu (巫緒樑), the director of public affairs at the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association (TTHA, 同志諮詢熱線), said.
In Western societies, marriage is defined both in terms of religion and the legal system. As Taiwan does not have the same religious prohibitions, Wang believes that there is little difference between seeking same-sex marriage and the
establishment of some form of civil union for gay couples.
Even though the rights guaranteed by civil union and domestic partnership are usually less complete than those of marriage, the recognition of such unions offers some important practical advantages in protecting the rights of gay couples. Wang added that the institution of marriage was more important in symbolic terms rather than in practical terms.
Legal issues aside, marriage as a social ritual continues to be important to both gay and straight couples in fulfilling emotions longings. It also allows the relationship to be embraced and blessed by friends and family.
Both Chou and Chen agreed that if it weren't for the support of their families, the path that they chose would have been that much more difficult. "Family support is essential if gay couples are to have a steady long-term relationship," Chen said. "My mother plays an important role in my life. For the past 18 years, since I came out, my mom has always been wonderfully understanding and encouraging. She even picked our wedding suits for the engagement party herself."
Chou of Sunday Photo Studio, is also a warm-hearted consultant to her clients' relationship problems. She said that gay couples need to overcome more difficulties than straight couples when it comes to marriage. "First, it's rather a rarity to find the love of your life within the gay community. Then there is the complexity of the whole coming-out issue. And lastly, it's unlikely you will consider a wedding if you lack a social network of support from friends, family and colleagues," Chou said.
Education is the key word in a support network for homosexuals. The greatest challenge for the gay movement is changing attitudes within the community, and raising awareness of the legal discrimination they face, deprived of basic rights that most people take for granted.
"In Taiwan, silence is the insurmountable obstacle homosexuals face, as they are often treated as a family secret that must not be mentioned or discussed. A new law won't improve things unless society also changes as a result of this legal reform. Education needs to fill in the gap. The gay movement should work both from above and below, that is, push for change on the legal front and at the same time initiate interactions and raise mutual understanding between gays and straights," long-term human rights activist Wang said.
Chen summed up the bottom-up strategy saying: "Politics is life and vice versa. Changes and influences can take place in an unobtrusive way."
Colliding with the System
Hsu You-sheng's, who held the first public gay wedding in Taiwan 10 years ago with his American partner Gary Harriman, believes that it is time for him to re-enter the public sphere. Having suffered from depression for the past five years, Hsu has once again taken a stand, calling for a collective gay wedding in the hope of educating the general public on the importance of granting same-sex couples equal rights.
"Recently, the issue of gay marriage has gradually grown as a topic of public debate. ... Ten years ago, we had so many blessings from the community, and it's our duty to stand out today and let people know what the issues are," Hsu said.
Determined to put Hsu's appeal into action, the Taiwan Gay Parade Alliance (台灣同志聯盟) will organize a collective gay wedding as part of this year's gay parade scheduled to take place on Sept. 30. "We want to make our point heard by colliding with the existing system. Participants of the collective wedding will be encouraged go to a household registration office in an attempt to register as a married couple," Wu of the TTHA said.
Already signed up for the collective wedding party, Chen, always jovial and high-spirited, said his next step is to establish the Taiwan Gay Couples Association (台灣同志伴侶協會), to offer counseling services and help with the problems gay couples may encounter in life. As a member of the Constitution Reform Alliance (憲改聯盟), his ultimate goal is to change the ROC Constitution, which he regards as the oppressive product of a patriarchal system, to a Constitution of Human Rights.
As for Chou, despite difficulties keeping the studio afloat due to the lack of advertising channels for a gay-oriented business like hers, the young entrepreneur insists that she will run the studio as long as her financial situation permits. "Money can't buy the happiness I have gained from doing what I've been doing. Support from the community is what keeps me going. There are even people flying in from Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore to have their wedding photos taken... I really don't know how long the studio can last, but I'm happy to have a chance to do my share to contribute to the community."
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