The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) is exploring legal options to allow Taiwanese to marry their Chinese same-sex partners.
The comments on Thursday came after the Judicial Yuan last week said that it aims to amend regulations on same-sex marriages, opening them for Taiwanese and their spouses from countries that do not recognize same-sex marriage.
This would also apply to spouses from Hong Kong and Macau, but not China, the Executive Yuan said.
MAC Deputy Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said that the Council of Grand Justices’ Interpretation No. 748, the basis for same-sex marriage in Taiwan, does not allow for the exclusion of Chinese spouses.
However, a “slew of legal issues” would arise from opening same-sex marriage for Taiwanese-Chinese couples, and government agencies are mulling responses to those issues, he said.
They include border and resident visa regulations, and the verification of certificates, Chiu said.
The council has closely followed the developments at the Judicial Yuan and participates in the amendment process, for which it has provided information on expected effects on exchanges across the Taiwan Strait, he said.
The council is collecting further information on legal and practical problems that might arise from opening same-sex marriage for Taiwanese-Chinese couples, and working on solutions with other government agencies involved, he said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lai Jui-lung (賴瑞隆) said that the council and national security agencies should approach the issue with a focus on Taiwan’s national security.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is aware that Beijing’s treatment of Hong Kong has weakened any possible sentiment for a “one country, two systems” arrangement for Taiwan, and has instructed Chinese Communist Party (CCP) politburo member Wang Huning (王滬寧) to develop new ways of defining cross-strait relations, Japanese news magazine Nikkei Asia reported on Thursday. A former professor of international politics at Fu Dan University, Wang is expected to develop a dialogue that could serve as the foundation for cross-strait unification, and Xi plans to use the framework to support a fourth term as president, Nikkei Asia quoted an anonymous source
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