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.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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