Proposed amendments to the Civil Code that would lower the legal age of majority from 20 to 18, and set the minimum marriage age at 18 for men and women, on Wednesday passed a preliminary review by the Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee.
During the review, the Ministry of Justice said that there is a high degree of consensus locally and internationally for setting the age of majority at 18.
Young people become psychologically mature at a younger age, largely due to their exposure to technology and mass media, the ministry said.
Japan in 2018 lowered its age of majority from 20 to 18, the ministry said, adding that in Taiwan’s legal system, 18 is the minimum age of responsibility for criminal and administrative penalties.
The proposal was approved with cross-party support in the committee, although it must still pass second and third readings by the full legislature to become law.
At the hearing, lawmakers also advanced proposals to set the minimum engagement age at 17 and the minimum marriage age at 18, for men and women.
They also proposed to remove a clause that allows minors to marry with the consent of a legal guardian.
The existing law states that to be engaged, men must be 17 and women 15, while men must be 18 and women 16 to marry.
Amending the legal age of majority in the Civil Code would affect private rights and duties such as legal guardianship, inheritance and property ownership, but would not change the voting age, which is set at 20 in the Constitution.
In September, the Legislative Yuan set up an ad hoc Constitutional Amendment Committee, which is expected to review a proposal to lower the voting age to 18 during the current legislative session.
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