</s>In a first for Asia, Taiwan moves to legalize same-sex marriage

 

 The island's highest court had just struck down Taiwan's anti–gay marriage laws as unconstitutional, paving the way for the first system of legalized same-sex marriage anywhere in Asia. "The judges have today said yes to marriage equality," Amnesty …</s>TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) - Taiwan's Constitutional Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage on Wednesday, making the island the first place in Asia to recognize gay unions.

The court said the current civil code that does not permit same-sex marriages was a violation of two articles of the constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwan's official name.

It said that authorities must either enact or amend relevant laws within two years, failing which same-sex couples could have their marriages recognized by submitting a document.

Legislation enforcing the court's ruling is already working its way through the legislature, where both the ruling and major opposition parties support legalization of same-sex marriage. Surveys show a majority of the public is also in favor, as is President Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's first female leader.

Gays and lesbians in Taiwan have formed an effective lobby in recent years, with an annual Gay Pride march drawing tens of thousands. While some conservative religious and social groups have mobilized against same-sex marriage, their influence is much less potent than in the United States and many other parts of the world.

"The need, capability, willingness and longing, in both physical and psychological senses, for creating such permanent unions of intimate and exclusive nature are equally essential to homosexuals and heterosexuals, given the importance of the freedom of marriage to the sound development of personality and safeguarding of human dignity," the court said in its ruling.

Two of the court's 15 justices filed dissenting opinions and one recused himself in the case.

Despite the spread of same-sex marriage in a few regions since 2001, gay and lesbian couples had been allowed to marry in only 22 of the world's nearly 200 countries. In Asia, Taiwan is the first government to legalize such unions, while South Africa is the only country in Africa to allow them. More than 70 countries continue to criminalize homosexual activity.

Globally, the pace of civil rights victories has slowed against the background of a steady stream of reports of anti-gay violence and persecution.

Recent weeks have witnessed large-scale detentions of gay men in Nigeria and Bangladesh, and accounts of roundups and torture of scores of gays in Chechnya. In Indonesia, a major police raid on a gay sauna was followed two days later by the public caning of two gay men.</s>TAIPEI, TAIWAN >> Taiwan’s Constitutional Court has ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, making the island the first place in Asia to recognize gay unions.

The court on Wednesday said the current civil code that does not permit same-sex marriages was a violation of two articles of the constitution of the Republic of China, Taiwan’s official name.

It says authorities must either enact or amend relevant laws within two years, failing which same-sex couples could have their marriages recognized by submitting a document.

Both the ruling and major opposition parties support legalization of same-sex marriage, as do a majority of the public and President Tsai Ing-wen.

Gays and lesbians in Taiwan have formed an effective lobby in recent years, with an annual Gay Pride march drawing tens of thousands.</s>Supporters of same-sex marriage wave rainbow Taiwanese flags in Taipei on May 24 following a ruling by the island's Constitutional Court in favor of same-sex marriage.

A ruling by Taiwan's Constitutional Court this morning paves the way for the island to become the first place in Asia to approve same-sex unions.

The Constitutional Court, Taiwan's top court, decided today (May 24) that an article of Taiwan's Civil Code violated the constitution because it stated that only a man and a woman could marry. The judges' ruling gives the parliament two years to amend or enforce the new law, according to CNN.

The case is a hard-fought victory for Taiwan's LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community, which has spent decades campaigning for equal rights and has organized large protests during the past several months to raise awareness about the cause, CNN reported. [10 Milestones in Gay Rights History]

Barring any anti-same-sex marriage legislation, the court's decision means that same-sex couples will be able to wed in May 2019, even if Taiwanese lawmakers do not pass a bill that allows same-sex marriage in the coming two years, Yu Mei-nu, a Taiwanese legislator, told CNN.

While same-sex marriage has gained support throughout the globe since the early 2000s, Asian countries have not jumped on board. Gay people are arrested and beaten in Indonesia, gay sex is criminalized in Singapore and LGBT groups face crackdowns in mainland China, according to The Washington Post.

Meanwhile, some gay armed-service members are facing criminal investigations in South Korea, and gay marriage is not recognized in Japan except in a few cities and wards, according to CNN.

Other places with anti-LGBT laws include many predominantly Muslim countries; former Soviet and Eastern Bloc countries; and sub-Saharan African countries, Live Science reported previously.

Given the laws and practices of its neighboring Asian countries, Taiwan has become a beacon for LGBT rights, especially considering today's court decision. While LGBT people still face stigma and discrimination in Taiwan, the island's school textbooks promote equality; gay and lesbian soldiers serve openly in the military; and Taipei has a well-known, annual gay pride parade, The Washington Post reported.

Taiwan's acceptance of LGBT groups may result from its vast cultural influences, which include indigenous groups, folk practices, and Dutch and Japanese colonizers, The Washington Post said. Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's first female president, also showed her support for same-sex marriagebefore being elected in 2016, CNN reported.

However, religious groups in Taiwan have opposed the same-sex marriage case, saying that same-sex unions can threaten children and families. This view contradicts studies showing that same-sex marriage may reduce teen suicide attemptsand that there are no known differences between children raised in homes with two heterosexual parents and children raised by lesbian parents.</s>Taiwan’s high court just ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, making it the first place in Asia to move forward with marriage equality rights.

According to the BBC, the Legislative Yuan, which serves as parliament in Taiwan, next has to amend the civil code. This will officially allow same-sex couples to marry.

“Society recognizes gay people have the same needs,” activist Chi Chia-wei stated when addressing the court and trying to get this ruling passed, according to BBC. “They are normal people wanting to build normal relations and the law should include them.”

Before this change, Taiwan defined marriage as a union between a man and a woman. Advocates argued that the definition was discrimination against same-sex couples and needed to be changed. Due to the election of liberal president Tsai Ing-wen, the LGBTQ community felt there was a better chance for same-sex marriage laws to be passed in the new political climate.

Now allies and advocates wait expectantly to see if parliament will move forward and change the law without any further ado. As soon as that happens, Taiwan will make history as one of the most inclusive places in Asia.</s>Taiwan’s constitutional court declared on Wednesday that same-sex couples have the right to legally marry, the first such ruling in Asia. The court, known as the Judicial Yuan, said current marriage laws were “in violation of both the people’s freedom of marriage … and the people’s right to equality”, and it gave two years for legal amendments to allow same-sex marriage.

“If relevant laws are not amended or enacted within the said two years, two persons of the same sex who intend to create the said permanent union shall be allowed to have their marriage registration effectuated,” the court said.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights activists had harboured high hopes their years of campaigning for same-sex marriage would win the court’s backing.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party that swept national elections in the self-ruled island last year supports the change.

The ruling clearing the way for same-sex marriage is the first in Asia, where socially conservative attitudes largely hold sway.

But Taiwan has a reputation as a beacon of liberalism in the region.

“Sexual orientation is an immutable characteristic that is resistant to change,” the court said.

“Furthermore, the freedom of marriage for two persons of the same sex, once legally recognised, will constitute the collective basis, together with opposite-sex marriage, for a stable society,” it said.

Taiwan, which China regards as a renegade province, has a famous annual gay pride parade that showcases the vibrancy of its lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community.

For all the latest World News, download Indian Express App now</s>Taiwan just got a lot closer to becoming the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage, after a landmark court ruling declared it unconstitutional to keep people of the same sex from getting married.

Videos on social media showed people in the streets celebrating the news, a culmination of decades of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual, and queer (LGBTQ) activism in Taiwan.

“Disallowing two persons of the same sex to marry, for the sake of safeguarding basic ethical orders” has no “rational basis,” the court wrote Wednesday, adding that “sexual orientation is an immutable characteristic that is resistant to change.”

The court, formally known as the Council of Grand Justices, has given Taiwan’s parliament two years to either amend its current law or pass new legislation to legalize same-sex marriage. But many are worried conservative and religious groups in the region might continue to stall such an effort.

While Taiwan is at the forefront of same-sex rights in Asia — it has held an annual gay pride parade since 2003 — some religious conservatives believe Taiwan’s fourteen high court justices should not effect such an extreme shift in the country’s policies.

“The majority of the population does not know what’s happening,” Robin Chen, a spokesperson for the Coalition For Happiness of Our Next Generation — which links support for same-sex marriage to an uptick in HIV infections — told the Guardian. “We need to discuss things on different levels because family is the foundation of society.”

Last year, when a bill to legalize same-sex marriage was presented in parliament, an estimated 20,000 conservatives came to protest in Taipei.

However, since Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party came to power last year, it has done much to bolster LGBTQ rights. President Tsai Ing-wen openly supported it on the campaign trail, though she has since declined to put her full weight behind the issue. Nevertheless, the office of the president reinforced the court’s ruling in a statement, urging government agencies to draft new legislation “as quickly as possible.”

The ruling has also instilled hope in activists abroad.

“The decision by Taiwan’s Constitutional Court is a huge victory in ensuring the right of loving and committed same-sex couples to marry,” said Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin. “Coming at a time when LGBTQ people around the globe are being targeted and harassed just because of who they are, this victory reinvigorates our crucially important work to advance equality.”

If parliament fails to pass a bill in two years, the court says, “two persons of the same sex who intend to create the said permanent union shall be allowed to have their marriage registration effectuated … by submitting a written document signed by two or more witnesses.”

The ruling came in response to two separate petitions: one from Chi Chia-wei, a long-time LGBTQ activist in Taiwan, and another from the capital city of Taipei, which was sued after it refused to grant marriage licenses for same-sex couples.</s>(CNN) Taiwan's top court has cleared the way for the island to become the first place in Asia to grant same-sex couples the right to marry.

The country's Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday that current laws, which say that marriage is between a man and a woman, violate the Constitution.

The panel of judges has given the island's parliament, known as the Legislative Yuan, two years to amend or enact new laws, which could potentially make Taiwan the first place in Asia to allow same-sex marriage.

The island has a large gay community and its annual gay pride parade is the biggest in Asia but the issue of marriage equality has divided Taiwanese society, with thousands turning out in recent months to protest for and against marriage equality

Protesters march against same-sex marriage outside the Parliament in Taipei on November 17, 2016.

"This explanation is a step forward in the history of Taiwan's same-sex marriage," said Yu Mei-nu, a Taiwanese legislator.

Yu said the court's explanation means that even if lawmakers do not pass legislation allowing same-sex marriage in the next two years, gay couples will still be able to marry by this time in 2019.

"I hope that the legislators will have the moral courage to pass same-sex marriage into law, however it is hard to predict how long it will take, at this moment," she said. "The opposition toward gay marriage in Taiwan won't just gladly accept it and give up the debate, so the debate will continue."

Draft legislation is already making its way through Taiwan's Parliament but it has stalled.

"We feel that this is a huge success for the LGBT and marriage equality movement in Taiwan," said Wayne Lin, an activist who runs an LGBT hotline on the island.

"We want to amend the Civil Code so same-sex couples can get married... our target is to complete this whole process within this year."

"In the face of love, everyone is equal," she said in a Facebook video during 2015's gay pride parade.

"I support marriage equality. Every person should be able to look for love freely, and freely seek their own happiness."

The decision came in response to two requests for a Constitutional Court ruling on article 972 of Taiwan's civil code, which states that marriage is between a man and a woman.

One of the requests was filed in 2015 by Chi Chia-wei, a veteran gay rights activist who has spent more than half his life fighting for marriage equality in Taiwan, according to the island's official Central News Agency (CNA).

The other request was filed by the Taipei city government the same year after three same-sex couples lodged an administrative lawsuit against the government when their marriage registrations were rejected, CNA reported.

Japan does not recognize same-sex marriage, although a handful of cities and wards have legalized same-sex partnerships. However, LGBT people are not protected from discrimination under Japanese law.

Homosexuality is not illegal in China and the Communist government removed it from the official list of mental disorders 16 years ago, but activists and experts say that prejudice and discrimination persist.

No Asian nations are on the 23-strong list of countries that have legalized same-sex marriage, according to Pew Research , although it was permitted in New Zealand in 2013.</s>Taiwanese laws that prohibit same-sex couples from marrying violate their personal freedom and equal protection, the island's Constitutional Court ruled Wednesday. The justices called sexual orientation an "immutable characteristic that is resistant to change."

"The judges have today said yes to marriage equality," said Amnesty International's Lisa Tassi, who directs campaigns in East Asia. "This is a huge step forward for LGBTI rights in Taiwan and will resonate across Asia."

Taiwan's president has asked the Ministry of Justice to come up with a legal framework for complying with the decision.

The court's ruling gives Taiwan's government two years to change its marriage laws. If that deadline passes without legislative action, same-sex couples will be allowed to register for marriage and obtain "the status of a legally recognized couple."

The long-awaited ruling was greeted by cheers at an outdoor rally organized by the Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy, which live-streamed the announcement on a large video screen as well as on Facebook.

Allowing single people to have the autonomy to decide whether to marry and whom to marry, the Taiwanese court said in a news release, "is vital to the sound development of personality and safeguarding of human dignity, and therefore is a fundamental right."

The court also said that when same-sex couples create "a permanent union of intimate and exclusive nature for the committed purpose of managing a life together," they're not affecting the rights of people in a heterosexual marriage.

The issue of same-sex marriage has been a source of contention for decades in Taiwan. The key plaintiff, Chi Chia-wei (sometimes written as Qi Jia-wei), has fought for gay rights since the 1980s and first sought a marriage license 16 years ago, Focus Taiwan reports.

Critics of legalization voiced their opposition to Wednesday's ruling, as Taiwan News reports:

"Groups opposing same-sex marriage, including Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation, protested outside the Judicial Yuan after the result came out. Some requested the invalidation of the interpretation and the president to step down."

Noting a history of discrimination against homosexuality and homosexuals' lack of political power, the court said that "in determining the constitutionality of different treatment based on sexual orientation, a heightened standard shall be applied."

Ahead of today's ruling, there were signs that Taiwan was poised to legalize same-sex marriage. It was a key campaign issue for President Tsai Ing-wen, who took office one year ago, and the legislature has been weighing a change to Taiwan's Civil Code, according to The China Post.

Back in 2013, Taiwan's Interior Ministry surprised many when it decided "not to revoke a marriage between two trans women," as Gay Star News reported. In doing so, the government said the couple had been "a man and a woman" when they registered to marry.
After the Supreme Court rules in favor, same-sex-marriage is on its way to being legalized in Taiwan, the first country in Asia to do so.