Taiwanese same-sex couple Daphne Chiang and Kenny Jhuang are getting married at this end of the year — even if the government does not legalize their union.
The Council of Grand Justices is today to rule on whether same-sex couples can tie the knot under existing law, in a decision the nation’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) groups widely expect to be favorable.
Such an outcome would be a first in Asia, where socially conservative attitudes mostly hold sway. However, regardless of the ruling, Chiang and Jhuang plan to hold their wedding banquet in December, with more than 100 guests.
Photo: Reuters
“You still have to live your life,” Daphne said, vowing not to let an unfavorable ruling derail the plans.
However, even a favorable decision by the Council of Grand Justices could take a year or more to translate into laws allowing gay and lesbian couples to marry, experts said.
This is because the grand justices are expected to give lawmakers time to frame relevant measures, one lawyer who frequently appears before the council said.
“It makes sense that they would give a grace period to allow legislation to be passed,” he said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Taiwan’s LGBT community has high expectations that its years-long efforts to legalize same-sex marriage would win the grand justices’ backing, because of support for gay rights by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) which swept national elections last year.
“If it passes, we will be the first in line Thursday morning,” said Chin Tsai, who wants legal recognition of a four-year relationship so he can join his partner in the US.
His partner, a ship captain, is to move to New York for his job, but Tsai cannot follow as a spouse unless Taiwan deems their union legal.
“Resolving differences is a start — more dialogue and understanding are needed,” President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), whose Cabinet includes the nation’s first transgender minister, said on Twitter after a February meeting on the issue.
The grand justices held a public hearing in March, after years of refusal to take up the issue, prompted by petitions from a gay rights activist and the Taipei City Government.
The city has faced growing requests for same-sex marriages.
Victoria Hsu (許秀雯), the lawyer for one petitioner and the chief executive officer of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, said a ruling has taken time because of the need to clarify some issues.
“A decision cannot be made on the day you have a public hearing about it,” she said.
Legal experts have said the 15 grand justices are the most liberal group ever, with seven appointed by Tsai after she became president. One of the 15 has recused himself from the case, as he is married to a lawmaker who backs gay rights.
Five months after Jhuang proposed to Chiang at a rally of thousands of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender couples on Taipei’s Ketagalan Boulevard, the women, both in their early 30s, were trying on wedding outfits.
“Once it passes we will have everything,” Chiang said. “But before that, we have to make the most of what we already have.”
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