On 26 December 2016, Taiwan’s legislature adopted an amendment to the Civil Code, marking a huge step towards marriage equality. Although there is still a long way to go, Taiwan stands a great chance to become the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage.
Same-sex relationships have long existed in human history. However, it was not until late 1980s when the first official request to the government to permit same-sex marriage was proposed in Taiwan. Chi Jia-Wei, an LGBT activist, held the first international conference on marriage equality on 7 March 1986. Over the last 30 years, Chi continued to file appeals to the court but kept facing rejections from the government and judicial departments.
In 2006, Legislator Hsiao Bi-khim from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) proposed the first same-sex marriage bill for approval. In 2013, the draft of same-sex marriage under the idea of “diverse family formation” passed its first reading in the Legislative Yuan. In late October 2016, legislator Yu Mei-nu from the ruling DPP proposed that the words “male and female parties” in the marriage chapter of the Civil Code should be replaced with “both parties”, hoping to legalise same-sex marriage by removing gender difference. Legislator Hsu Yu-Jen from the opposition party Kuomintang (KMT) and the New Power Party (NPP) caucus also proposed similar versions to change the Civil Code directly.
Those who support the amendment to the Civil Code believe that same-sex marriage is human right, and human rights protection is a universal value. However, marriage equality remains a controversy in Taiwan, and the country is split down the middle on this issue.
Conservative religious groups, mostly composed by Christians, vehemently oppose to the amendment. Some believe that the family system will collapse if the LGBT community is allowed to get married, and the children will have no idea how to address their parents properly. The Alliance of Religious Groups for the Love of Families Taiwan, composed of multiple religious and parents groups, spearheads the anti-marriage equality movement in the country. It has strongly opposed to amending the Civil Code, but instead proposed a “special law” to protect the marriage right for the LGBT community as its bottom line.
The opposition alliance believes that marriage should be exclusively between male and female. If same-sex marriage is adopted, the society will have to invest in great resources in changing the law and, the economic development will be undermined. In addition, same-sex marriage cannot lead to natural reproduction, so it is not beneficial for boosting the low birth rate in Taiwan. Moreover, sexual activities between men have become the greatest cause of HIV/AIDS in the country. Furthermore, Taiwan should not become a “guinea pig” for same-sex marriage in Asia, while many countries in the world still have not legalized same-sex marriage.
Since the Netherlands took the lead in 2001, a total of 21 countries have legally recognised same-sex marriage (both nationally and partially), including Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Denmark, France, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay. Rising polls in many countries have shown growing support for marriage equality.
Taiwan has long been considered the most LGBT-friendly country in Asia. Since 2003, the Taiwan Pride parade has become one of the largest pride parades in Asia. On 29 October 2016, Taiwan Pride was attended by a recording-breaking 82,000 people. One week before the event on 17 October, National Taiwan University lecturer Jacques Picoux committed suicide. Picoux lived with his same-sex partner Tseng Ching-chao for 35 years, but when his partner died of cancer, he fell into despair because the two remained “strangers” under the law. Picoux’s death was a rallying call that led to a social movement that pushes both the LGBT and non-LGBT communities to legally recognise marriage equality. On 31 October 2015 when the incumbent Taiwanese President was still running in the election, she posted on her Facebook page that, “Everyone is equal before love. I’m Tsai Ing-wen, and I support marriage equality. Let everyone have the freedom to love and pursue happiness.” Nevertheless, after taking office, the DPP government has not clearly proposed its policy regarding marriage equality due to strong objection. A massive rally and concert for marriage equality was held on 10 December with over 250,000 people taking to the street to show their support. On the same evening, Presidential Office spokesperson Alex Huang expressed that President Tsai supports marriage equality, and “the LGBT community also has the right to marriage.”
During the year-end press conference, when asked about her attitude toward marriage equality, President Tsai said, “Many people have different opinions and feelings on this issue, and similar situations have happened in other countries as well. During the process, there would definitely be some conflicts. However, through dialogue, there will be a way out, so that this issue can move ahead with greater consensus and social support.”
She also indicated that now this issue has moved from the phase of conflict to dialogue. “How to handle this issue can be seen as a test to Taiwan’s social maturity, and the ability to accept new challenge. Based on Taiwanese society’s maturity, Taiwan has great chance to rationally deal with this issue”. However, she did not express whether or not she supports the amendment to the Civil Code.
Tsou Tzung-han, a human rights activist and TV show host, married his same-sex partner on 12 November, 2016 after seeing each other for five years. Tsou and his husband participated in the joint wedding ceremony held by the Taipei City Government, with Mayor of Taipei City Ko Wen-je serving as the chief witness. After the ceremony, Tsou got a piece of paper with the mayor’s stamp. Tsou said that the Department of Civil Affairs (DCA) of Taipei City Government to him that paper might give him the right of visitation to his husband at the hospital, but the DCA also stressed that it might “not necessarily” be valid.
Before the wedding banquet, Tsou’s mother almost had a nervous breakdown after he posted the wedding message on his Facebook page. She thought it would be better to keep a low profile, but Tsou wanted to invite the people he loved to attend. At one point, Tsou even wanted to half the wedding because the pressure was overwhelming, but in the end, the family bond became stronger. After the party, Tsou’s father, Tsou Teng-lin, wrote an article to the local newspaper. Tsou said when his son first came out, he was extremely worried that his son might do drugs or go to the gay orgies. However, after getting to know his son’s partner, he found both of them are hard-working and well-behaved young men. On the day of the banquet, his wife also said they were happy to welcome another son in their family. At the end, Tsou sent his blessing to his beloved child, “Son, we know you try to prove that your marriage life is happy and fulfilling. However, I still want to tell you that even though the society is not friendly enough, your family has your back. Wish you everlasting happiness and lots of love.” After the amendment to the Civil Code was adopted in the Legislative Yuan on 26 December, 30,000 people cheered outside the venue. However, thousands from the anti-camp repeated the slogan, “marriage and family, let the people decide,” asking to put same-sex marriage to a referendum. According to the procedure of the Legislative Yuan, there will be a one-month “freeze period” before the bill enters negations among the ruling and opposition parties. During this time, all parties can calm down and negotiate. Thus, it will have to be after April for the bill to be reviewed or pass the third reading. In any case, it is hope that the chasm between the two camps will be closed gradually through negotiation, communication, and mutual understanding, so that the LGBT community in Taiwan enjoys the rights it deserves, and the non-LGBT people can learn more about acceptance and tolerance.