Two international same-sex couples yesterday registered their marriages in Taipei, after the government last month recognized same-sex unions in which the foreign partner is from a jurisdiction that does not allow gay marriage, except China.
The couples registered their marriages in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) Household Registration Office.
Malaysian Chang Ssu-hsiang (張斯翔) proposed to his partner, Taiwanese Kang Ting-wei (康庭瑋), six years ago, but they could not register their marriage even after same-sex marriage was legalized in Taiwan.
 - Copy.jpg)
Photo: Wu Po-hsuan, Taipei Times
Chang said that he fought for his right in the hope of showing the public and the judiciary that international same-sex couples “are living people, not excluded data.”
The purpose of getting married is to take care of each other and be together legally in a place that is familiar to the couple, he said.
The other couple — Jonathan from Taiwan and Hank from Malaysia — said “marriage is the fruit of love,” adding that “love has no gender or nationality.”
The Legislative Yuan in May 2019 passed the Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 (司法院釋字第748號解釋施行法), legalizing same-sex marriage.
However, transnational couples in which one of the partners is from a country that does not allow gay marriage could still not get married in Taiwan. The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights helped the couples file administrative appeals and administrative litigations, which have resulted in several favorable verdicts.
The Ministry of the Interior on Jan. 19 notified local governments that all international same-sex marriages, except those involving a partner from China, should be recognized following then-premier Su Tseng-chang’s (蘇貞昌) instruction.
Alliance attorney Victoria Hsu (許秀雯) yesterday congratulated the couples who were able to get married after fighting for their rights for a long time.
“It is not easy to change society,” she said, adding that a more equal Taiwan is possible as long as people believe in change and correct values.
Transnational same-sex couples involving a partner from one of the 18 countries listed by the government have to attend an interview before their marriages can be registered, alliance member Chien Chih-chieh (簡至潔) said.
At least 100 Taiwanese-Chinese same-sex couples are waiting to register their marriages, but the issue, which concerns national security, remains to be resolved, she said.
‘NON-RED’: Taiwan and Ireland should work together to foster a values-driven, democratic economic system, leveraging their complementary industries, Lai said President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday expressed hopes for closer ties between Taiwan and Ireland, and that both countries could collaborate to create a values-driven, democracy-centered economic system. He made the remarks while meeting with an Irish cross-party parliamentary delegation visiting Taiwan. The delegation, led by John McGuinness, deputy speaker of the Irish house of representatives, known as the Dail, includes Irish lawmakers Malcolm Byrne, Barry Ward, Ken O’Flynn and Teresa Costello. McGuinness, who chairs the Ireland-Taiwan Parliamentary Friendship Association, is a friend of Taiwan, and under his leadership, the association’s influence has grown over the past few years, Lai said. Ireland is
FINAL COUNTDOWN: About 50,000 attended a pro-recall rally yesterday, while the KMT and the TPP plan to rally against the recall votes today Democracy activists, together with arts and education representatives, yesterday organized a motorcade, while thousands gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in the evening in support of tomorrow’s recall votes. Recall votes for 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers and suspended Hsinchu City mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) are to be held tomorrow, while recall votes for seven other KMT lawmakers are scheduled for Aug. 23. The afternoon motorcade was led by the Spring Breeze Culture and Arts Foundation, the Tyzen Hsiao Foundation and the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association, and was joined by delegates from the Taiwan Statebuilding Party and the Taiwan Solidarity
An SOS message in a bottle has been found in Ireland that is believed to have come from the Taiwanese captain of fishing vessel Yong Yu Sing No. 18 (永裕興18號), who has been missing without a trace for over four years, along with nine Indonesian crew members. The vessel, registered to Suao (蘇澳), went missing near Hawaii on Dec. 30, 2020. The ship has since been recovered, but the 10 crew members have never been found. The captain, surnamed Lee (李), is believed to have signed the note with his name. A post appeared on Reddit on Tuesday after a man
A saleswoman, surnamed Chen (陳), earlier this month was handed an 18-month prison term for embezzling more than 2,000 pairs of shoes while working at a department store in Tainan. The Tainan District Court convicted Chen of embezzlement in a ruling on July 7, sentencing her to prison for illegally profiting NT$7.32 million (US$248,929) at the expense of her employer. Chen was also given the opportunity to reach a financial settlement, but she declined. Chen was responsible for the sales counter of Nike shoes at Tainan’s Shinkong Mitsukoshi Zhongshan branch, where she had been employed since October 2019. She had previously worked
RSS