Mon, May 25, 2020 page3

• Equality campaign marks same-sex law anniversary

  • By Sherry Hsiao / Staff reporter
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  The Taiwan Equality Campaign yesterday marked the first anniversary of the implementation of a special law for same-sex marriage by outlining its four major goals for the next three years.

  There is still much work to be done to achieve equal rights, as discrimination and misunderstanding involving the LGBT+ community has not been eradicated, the group said.

  Although a poll it released on May 15 about attitudes toward LGBT+ and same-sex marriage showed generally positive results, it still found that 28.4 percent of respondents aged 18 and older believe the passage of the Act for Implementation of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748 (司法院釋字第七四八號解釋施行法) had a negative impact on society, it said.

  

  Guests hold rainbow flags to celebrate the marriage of same-sex couples during a wedding banquet on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building in Taipei on May 25 last year, the day after same-sex marriage became legal in Taiwan.

  Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times

  Now an independently registered organization, the Taiwan Equality Campaign was preceded by the Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan — a collection of five groups: the Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ+) Hotline Association, the Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy, the Awakening Foundation, the Lobby Alliance for LGBT Human Rights and GagaOOLala.

  The four main goals the campaign has set span the legal, political, educational and international arenas.

  One objective is to push for legislation to extend the legal rights of LGBT+ people when it comes to adoption, the use of assisted reproductive technologies and transnational same-sex marriage.

  The act now only gives same-sex couples the right to adopt the biological child or children of their spouse, while transnational marriages are only allowed when both parties come from a nation where same-sex marriage is legal.

  The Taiwan Equality Campaign said it would also work with other gender equality advocacy groups and human rights experts to draft an “equality act” to protect against LGBT+ discrimination outside a workplace or school, something the laws currently do not do

  It hopes to expand its exchanges with LGBT+-friendly lawmakers and their aides, form networks of local city councilors who are supportive of gender equality, and host a training program to foster LGBT+ participation in politics, it said.

  To enhance public understanding of LGBT+ people, the group said it would continue to share information on LGBT+issues through social media platforms, conduct street surveys and other research, and host workshops and forums aimed at facilitating workplace equality.

  It plans to share Taiwan’s experiences with other LGBT+ groups in Asia, it said, adding that next year it aims to forge an alliance for marriage equality in Asia and hold an international conference.

  The campaign also announced the digital release of T-POP: No Fear In Love (踢趴噗：勇敢的愛), a compilation album created in collaboration with the Red Hot Organization.

  The album features works by singers 9m88, Enno Cheng (鄭宜農), Zooey Wonder (黃玠瑋), Leaf Yeh (葉穎) and Crowd Lu (盧廣仲), including a remix of 9m88’s If I Could (如果可以) by Grammy-nominated producer starRo and the band Xiu Xiu’s remix of Cheng’s Jade (玉仔的心).

  The group also launched a fundraising effort that went live yesterday. A limited number of signed copies of the album are being offered to donors who commit to contributing NT$1,527 per month — an amount signifying the time the same-sex marriage law passed its third reading at the Legislative Yuan on May 17 last year.
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