Taiwan voters reject same-sex marriage in referendum

Voters in Taiwan passed a referendumaskingthatmarriage be restricted to one man and one woman, a setback to LGBT couples hoping that the island would be the first place in Asia to let same-sex couples share child custody and insurance benefits.

The vote on Saturday, organised by Christian groups that make up about 5 per cent of Taiwan’s population, and advocates of the traditional Chinese family structure, goes against a May 2017 constitutional court ruling.

Judges told legislators then to make same-sex marriage legal within two years, a first for Asia, where religion and conservative governments normally keep the bans in place.

Although the ballot initiative is advisory only, it is expected to frustrate politicians mindful of public opinion as they face the court deadline next year.

Many legislators will stand for re-election in 2020.

“The legislature has lots of choices on how to make this court order take effect,” said referendum proponent Chen Ke, a Roman Catholic pastor in Taiwan and an opponent of same-sex marriage.

Ruling party lawmakers backed by President Tsai Ingwen had proposed legalising same-sex marriage in late 2016 but put their ideas aside to await the court hearing.

Opposition to same-sex marriage rose after the court ruling. Opponents have held rallies and mobilised votes online.

Courts will still consider local marriage licensing offices in violation of the law by May 2019 if they refuse samesex couples, a ministry of justice spokesman said last week.

“The referendum is a general survey, it doesn’t have very strong legal implications,” said Shiau Hong-chi, professor of gender studies and communications management at Shih-hsin University in Taiwan. “One way or another, it has to go back to the court.”

Voters approved a separate measure on Saturday calling for a “different process” to protect same-sex unions. It is viewed as an alternative to using the civil code. A third initiative, also approved, asked that schools avoid teaching LGBT “education”.

Amnesty International told the government that it needed to “deliver equality and dignity”. The human rights organisation’s Taiwan-based acting director Annie Huang said: “This result is a bitter blow and a step backwards for human rights in Taiwan. However, despite this setback, we remain confident love and equality will ultimately prevail.”

Taiwanese also elected candidates from the China-friendly opposition Nationalist Party to a majority of mayoral and county magistrate posts, reversing the party’s losses in 2014.