TAIWAN UNVEILS GAY MARRIAGE BILL
Gay couples eligible for child adoption, inheritance rights
TAIWAN’S ruling party unveiled its latest attempt to create Asia’s first gay marriage law yesterday, a bill offering samesex couples “permanent unions” as well as limited adoption rights, despite stiff opposition from conservatives.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) has had a stuttering and troubled journey towards delivering on their 2016 election promise to grant same-sex couples equal marriage rights.
In November, conservatives won a referendum against revising the island’s Civil Code to allow gay marriage, in a blow to President Tsai Ing-wen’s party and a stark illustration of the social divide caused by the issue.
The referendum came after Taiwan’s Constitutional Court voted to legalise gay marriage in 2017 — the first place in Asia to do so — arguing that denying samesex couples marriage rights was unconstitutional.
The court ordered the government to amend the law by May 24 this year.
The bill published yesterday by the cabinet is the Tsai administration’s attempt to square that circle — a new law that meets the court’s demands while trying to respect the referendum result by not altering the Civil Code which currently defines marriage as between a man and a woman.
The draft law released by the justice ministry proposes allowing “two persons of the same sex to create a permanent union of intimate and exclusive nature for the committed purpose of managing a life together to realise the equal protection of the freedom of marriage”.
Gay couples will be allowed to adopt the biological children of their partner while both parties are financially responsible for each other and are entitled to inheritance rights.
Premier Su Tseng-chang called the unveiling of the bill a “historical moment” and urged Parliament to pass it as soon as possible.
“We are all of the same country, live on the same land and under the same heaven and earth whether you are straight or gay,” he told a cabinet meeting.
“Every single person should be respected and treated equally. I sincerely hope that everyone will accept differences and treat each other cordially so Taiwan can become a country of mutual respect and friendliness.”
The law is set to take effect on May 24 but needs to pass Parliament, where the DPP holds a majority. Rights groups noted some shortcomings, such as limited adoption rights and no mention of recognising international gay marriage rights.
“The international community at the moment is closely watching the progress of Taiwan’s gay marriage bill. We hope to let the world see that Taiwan is a diverse society that respects equality to become a beacon and model of human rights in Asia,” the Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan said.
But conservative groups hit out at the bill — which avoids using the word “marriage” in its title.