Following the Taiwanese legislature’s approval of same-sex marriage May 17, couples plan to tie the knot Friday.
The weddings will mark Taiwan’s watershed moment becoming the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage and the first day when couples will be allowed to marry May 24.
“We have married before, but this time it is for real,” Liang Tsung-hui, 35, who married her partner of 12 years, Chu Pei-syuan, 32, in Canada in 2012, told Reuters.
This Friday also marks the deadline given by Taiwan’s constitutional court for lawmakers to pass legislation legalizing same-sex marriage.
LGBT advocates didn’t miss the fact that the bill was approved exactly a week before the court’s 2017 ruling declaring same-sex marriage unconstitutional would automatically go into effect.
For two years, lawmakers have struggled over passing legislation to comply with the court. Last November, voters threw another wedge into the debate passing conflicting referendums that directly went against the court.
Reuters reported that Taiwanese lawmakers believe that the current law respects the referendums and the court’s decision.
The bill is limited in its scope, restricting marriage between binational same-sex couples and adoption.
“The fight is not over, but we will continue from this brand-new start,” Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights Executive Director Victoria Hsu, who plans to register her marriage with her partner of six years when the bill takes effect Friday, told CNN.
President Tsai Ing-wen is expected to sign the bill soon.
Tsai, who has been a marriage equality supporter, tweeted her praise of the passage of the bill: “On May 17th, 2019 in #Taiwan, #LoveWon. We took a big step toward true equality, and made Taiwan a better country.”
LGBT advocates have been critical of the president and her party, the Democratic Progressive Party, for caving under political pressure from conservatives and not passing same-sex marriage and other LGBT protections sooner.
The new law could impact her 2020 re-election bid.
Reuters reported that the anti-same-sex marriage group Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation warned that voters would “strike back” during the next election.
China’s attempted celebratory tweet backfired, angering some Taiwanese.
The People’s Daily, the communist propaganda paper, tweeted, “Local lawmakers in Taiwan, China, have legalized same-sex marriage in a first for Asia,” with an animated image of three rainbow couples with the caption “love is love.”
“Wrong! The bill was passed by our national parliament and will be signed by the president soon. Democratic Taiwan is a country in itself and has nothing to do with authoritarian China,” Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Joseph Wu tweeted back, calling the paper a “commie brainwasher and it sucks.”
Taiwan rejects China’s claim of the autonomous island democracy as a territory.
Homosexuality isn’t illegal in China but it remains taboo despite some growing social acceptance in recent years. China continues to censor LGBT content and themes in media and online and imprison LGBT artists.
LGBT advocates expressed hope that other Asian countries will follow Taiwan’s lead.
Xiaogang Wei, who heads the Beijing Gender Health Education Institute, told CNN the bill was a historic moment for Asia and the global LGBT movement.
“It will have a very positive impact on China’s LGBT community, offering us a lot of hope,” said Xiaogang, noting Taiwan shares a “cultural tradition” with China.
Thailand is currently working on same-sex marriage legislation. Earlier this year, 13 Japanese couples sued for same-sex marriage in different jurisdictions in Japan. Last year, Hong Kong granted same-sex spousal visas for binational couples.
Originally published by the Bay Area Reporter.
Got international LGBT news tips? Call or send them to Heather Cassell at Skype: heather.cassell or oitwnews@gmail.com.
