Religious groups of various faiths yesterday voiced their strong opposition to legislation allowing for same-sex marriage and family diversity, saying that same-sex marriage might lead to the eventual destruction of human society.
“Legalizing same-sex marriage is a reverse tide in the international movement for sexual liberation, it is not progressive, rather, it is a downward step that will lead to the collapse of civilizations,” Unification Church Taiwan vice president Paul Chang (張全鋒) told a press conference hosted by the Alliance of Religious Groups for the Love of Families Taiwan at the Legislative Yuan.
“Legalizing same-sex marriage is legalizing adultery, incest and group sex,” he said.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
He said the gay rights movement seeks to create more homosexuals through group sex.
“We must understand how dangerous it is, because once such legislation is passed, our children will be taught at school that it is OK to be gay, which will lead to very serious consequences for our society,” he said.
Whether looking for an Eastern or Western perspective, marriage should for a union between a man and a woman, Chang said.
“From our traditional perspective, it is in line with the heavenly way for a man and a woman to get married,” Chang said. “From the Christian perspective, God has created men and women, and blessed their union.”
Chang also spoke against allowing gay couples to adopt children, saying that children raised in same-sex families are more likely to become criminals or victims of sexual violence.
Chen Chih-hung (陳志宏), a Taiwan Lutheran Church bishop, said that marriage between a man and woman is the best system, and that legalizing same-sex marriage would encourage more people to become homosexuals, which would destroy the marriage system.
“If, one day, after the bill to legalize same-sex marriage is passed, if your child or grandchild tells you that he or she is homosexual, and thus your family lineage would stop right there, can you accept it?” Chen asked.
He also said that Taiwan already has a large number of people with AIDS.
“Would you like to see more people being infected with AIDS due to same-sex marriage? Would you like to see the birthrate continues to decline due to same-sex marriage?” he said.
Buddhist master Shih Ching-yao (釋淨耀) said the religious leaders were speaking out because they “feel it is our responsibility to stand up for family values and the stability of our society.”
“The family is the basis of social stability. How will we able to maintain social stability if people of the same sex could form a family?” Shih said.
He said it is also the duty of a family to produce children.
“People should not sacrifice this important moral value just because they want to enjoy sex,” he said.
“Many Western countries have legalized same-sex marriage, but no Asian country has done so,” Shih said. “I hope that Taiwan will learn from countries upholding the right values, not from those who follow bad values.”
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS