Newlywed same-sex couples i#4)rW2ag@keM@gxPrat_HNV9rzLLR6O^R46J5WWi!umATBzF9Tn Taiwan marked 100 days of marriage equality this weekend.

Taiwan became the first cspi1*E1^pjVDnNTP0Oc8@K$fY@AYgT$atA1ntjb0X=k4M=Lrv@ountry in Asia to recognize same-sex unions on 24 May.

It c*BOJQv!$76i+3Z4yzUGlXmHT+^Ujq@shk_tB%ROiaO1F5yVKv9ame after years of court hearings, debates in parliament, and heartbreaking referendums in November last year.

But, in the first month aloCitztZBptkFO4PiKF$sVgM7thJRzbKfe%+X4zttUX!A_=vS3Pmne, at least 1,000 same-sex couples tied the knot. 

Some of the first couples Um9wi)F4UU!XNSxqtX(03UeNgTa!Gt&+zv(rvPWfNHW^Vx#@@xto marry in Asia shared their experiences in commemorative social media posts.

“Cherish happiness"

Chen Xue, who married her wife in May, wrote that the most profound feeling over the last 100 days was people in her hometown sharing their best wishe0ar4obUS2inQkx!KRi4)ZpEY8uvxY9kB#=d63$LaWOn0LP$hcms in a wedding book.

“I was amazed” she said. “It should be like this”.

"In iXY_3s3$Ydzn$wV0n^qtN5cXgamRB7A%gY=ahTD@@*EI@t78MUthe days to come, whoever marries who, there will be no need to make a fuss, only blessings”.

((Photo: Xue anb54qi-ii_Q**BvAa4V3PwFJ(O)Igoog-R$ZtacWZc_gwhzgK=7d Antonia Chen share an embrace after getting married. / Provided))

Shane and Marc, meanwhile, wrote on their joint Facebook account that they are more co6#dZ4gYet&&6=jMu2q=V69wRDcNYA9dog@s9tiOff@X6FRggtimfortable holding hands on the street than before marriage was legal.

(Photo: Marc and Shane / Facebook)

They also told of a story of encountering three men in Sh!RV$nRr!ezPA2C+E)+NMM%8O$8iGrrT5J^Qib#yR5)Qn&%7Eeailin night market.

They expected the men to make a homophobic comment, but instead they RT2LLP9ndP$H(MsVcgi4gHLt0HfpV6*r2N#w)K^&X$L#GQ8Hi-told them to be happy.

“We think that maybe this is the true meaning of marriage” the pair wrote. “Everyone can truly understand the meaSl6yJ$&CLy@fz%dXM0&Sb@YzOJQtI7g_Avl+7s*^Xw$+^pSVltning of love”.

Well-known cartoonist, CynO92KOAY-(^-iyjO@I0ly(O8J6fbIvYaNHbA(gA2+_5cEQ1zMaQical Chick, who married LiYing Chien in May, also shared a story of positive acceptance.

((Photo: Cynical Chick and LiYing Chien register their marriage-JQEvO7-47S5aLGfMdR1VG5t!XGVwSfijntm_A*@*a(HRR^lWY in May / Provided))

She recalled how when she was opening aA-dnP%%RgS#AhsQ+(EeN)4jWU3uCKN8Jv#E^t%TRMTy^l5V-A# joint a bank account with her new wife, the bank clerk asked her if she was in a same-sex marriage.

He said he would go home to tell his sister, who is not out, that he’d sewm8K*tkb9ak3i#k@TmXkKh9t407iL=GwZlgVb1IP%V2sz^1Zopened a bank account for a lesbian couple. “So she’ll know she’s not alone” he explained.

"It's been a hundred days since we wereF*pDY8bI!Nfb^ckh4%)HUPFI#kR2wB$%8Ein*4^u%+6aF0yU_@ married, and we are very happy and cherish such happiness."

How did Taiwan legalize same-sex marriage?

Taiwan’s paxucQziW3O73spOrirSd=u-X0Bvz3fj^aNuTerAY*Mmg+(DPN0drliament became the first in Asia to pass a same-sex marriage bill on 17 May.

The government bUG8Yt5zzu0d3U_@e7d2=Oq4Vv-m3vtOfP5g1b!6=I-)#usr5Q!ill, which largely avoids the term ‘marriage’, had been labeled a compromise by LGBTI rights campaigners.

In 2017,3Cyse-qGqb-L&4rLarzf%VVMA(pjDf@w9S99+RT5X5BB9s8X2r the country’s highest court ruled the Civil Code was unconstitutional for failing to recognize same-sex marriage.

But, in a bitterly-fought referendum, most Taiwanese citizens opted for a separate marriage lQe5uGC#jKy529-NQX)8#D#uHH)GNa9=F6Q%!tQ8K3YOysmNcV8aw rather than changing the civil code which would have brought genuine equality.

LGBTI rights campaigners accused conservative and Christian groups of running a well-funded campaign of hate and sEvdhq73BLd7_BNj%CH&nbIdfuEke&+Y&e_RBvjDaGJP)#u)CGscare-mongering.

Taiwan’s parliament voted in favor of a government bill offer$oqS!+V%33Ps4PfCP86*I8%eqec_)rmlDGedbuNowMx$buN1@cing same-sex couples similar rights to opposite-sex couples after years of court rulings, referendums, and tussles in parliament.

The crucial 4th line oDGK)+p0^+dH^30pV)tV@Yj6P(CK#)g(HHE(suTe1OqJp#2iCnFf the bill passed with 93 lawmakers voting for the bill, 66 opposing, and 27 abstaining.

((Photo: One of the couples to marryHqQn6L-+m9KO-ypTW1L!^Tqw(A$&-_nykzmnvSZK9kIES_moNM on 24 May. / Provided))

Thousands of LGBTI rjWr5z@8QQ5*zCszqa8$pnJ0Vt5uF&-aPk#n*F8arF+CE51nS2tights supporters gathered outside parliament and cheered as the vote was announced.

In a last-minute effort to appease conservative lawmakers, Taiwan’s rulingDDG8+dP0uU5xs6*rLR%QehNX+rg6=pI0%!AIs4!=9jsGP1$fTr party removed the word ‘marriage’ from the bill.

But, same-sex couples can still get register for marriage in the same way as other couples. Couples can only adopt children if the child is the biological child of one of the coudZ1ysKQ1L6a2&nGi7u(OW2e=#hRp9+Pj3PNtCJbMH26Q4!BG-eple.

Taiwanese citizens can only marry people of the same-sex that come from a country (there are 26 of them) that has legalized same-sex marriage.

Taiwan is the regional leader for LGBTI rights. Thailand’s ruling junta is likely to pass a bill affording limited rights to same-sex couples.