Veteran political activist Shih Ming-te (施明德) yesterday spoke out in favor of same-sex marriage and gay rights in a Facebook post, saying that if he were elected president next year, his government would allow same-sex marriage and give gay couples the same rights as heterosexual couples.
According to the constitution, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights passed by the legislature in 2009 are considered domestic statutes, Shih said.
That means the government could promulgate same-sex marriage without the need for the Legislative Yuan to pass any new bills, Shih said.
The 74-year-old Shih announced on Thursday that he would run in January’s presidential election as an independent.
One of the nation’s longest-serving political prisoners, Shih was a founding member of the Democratic Progressive Party and served as its chairman for two years before resigning from the party in 2000.
He was one of the leaders of an anti-corruption campaign against then-president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in 2006.
Shih’s wife, Chen Chia-chun (陳嘉君), who is the executive director of the Shih Ming-te Culture Foundation, moderated discussions between lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LBGT) rights activists and legislators last year.
The Legislative Yuan reviewed a same-sex marriage bill in December last year, the first time a bill to legalize same-sex marriage had ever been reviewed at the parliamentary level in East Asia, but the bill stalled because of opposition from the Ministry of Justice and religious groups and remains shelved in committee.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
Passengers on Taiwan High Speed Rail (THSR) will be required to use headphones and make phone calls in gangways under new “quiet travel” rules starting Sept. 22. THSR Chairman Shih Che (史哲) told media that THSR will run a three-month promotional campaign to ensure widespread adoption of the new rules. Those repeatedly ignoring the guidance face the potential termination of their transport contract, which can result in them getting escorted off the train, according to THSR. Shih shared his hope to cultivate an environment conducive to rest and reading for the train’s passengers, stating that these changes aim to “promote self-discipline” among passengers
RSS