Women’s and LGBT rights groups yesterday rallied in Taipei to urge the Judicial Yuan to decriminalize adultery.
“Adultery is still a crime under Taiwanese law that does not guarantee a happy marriage nor does it stop extramarital affairs,” Awakening Foundation chairwoman Chuang Chiao-ju (莊喬汝) said.
“In prosecuting adultery cases, women have been treated unfairly by the courts, and have received disproportionate punishment,” she said, referring to Article 239 of the Criminal Code on offenses against marriage and family, which allows for up to one year imprisonment for adultery.
Photo: CNA
“Taiwan should follow Japan and South Korea, as they have decriminalized adultery. It is still a crime in the world’s few very conservative nations, and Taiwan, unfortunately, is among them,” she added.
Protesters held a banner that read: “No prosecution for adultery, family happiness cannot depend on catching the adulterer in the act,” and gave a list of recommendations, including annulling Article 239, to Judicial Yuan officials.
On Tuesday next week, the Council of Grand Justices is to start hearing arguments on the question of decriminalizing adultery.
“Modern marriage should not be about possession, but must be based on the free will of two people to enter into wedlock. If their relationship ends, it is not the place of the state to intervene,” Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, which promotes LGBTQ community and same-sex marriage issues, said in a statement.
The Awakening Foundation began pushing to decriminalize adultery 26 years ago, Chuang said.
“Through these long years, Taiwanese society and people’s attitudes have undergone great changes and made significant progress, but Article 239 has remained without any change since 1930,” she said.
As the courts favor a concept of “family harmony,” adultery cases can lead to charges against spouses and people outside the marriage, the foundation said, adding that a higher proportion of charges were filed against men, but more women have received guilty verdicts.
“For every 100 women found guilty and sentenced in adultery cases, only 81 men were. This shows that the law is very unfair against women,” Chuang said.
Members of the Taiwan Gender Equity Education Association, Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association and Humanistic Education Foundation also participated in the event.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by