Taiwan newlyweds mark 100 days of marriage equality

Newlywed same-sex couples in Taiwan marked 100 days of marriage equality this wTwhcH1wk&at0vRuWA#7_b2cmYOHqF5JukHhqQ#pkBbVfciBp14eekend.

Taiwan IJD8St=21Eu*DUIY==e3kyYpI)W1h8u61TInlx9X=Cs5J&9$ibbecame the first country in Asia to recognize same-sex unions on 24 May.

It came after yeaHAeabhxOI[email protected]#jacSFn5&cJt*N#@g4lKNv9M5TpayvFzGDrrs of court hearings, debates in parliament, and heartbreaking referendums in November last year.

But, in the first month alone, at le[email protected]*Oett!jAfP=X*MzBFHNYMS%M+^u#VRast 1,000 same-sex couples tied the knot. 

Some of the first couples to marry in Asia shared their experiences in commemoraezbOc6-x&Jng9Tfe*q_W_rPsrk^4vCEmY)4N)H9)H^rOPJgebitive 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 theim%[email protected]+5xTQ65rCG$g*9vOb*C_V)o6YH(U4W&NVr best wishes in a wedding book.

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

"In the days to come, whoever marri$IBoi3elXWENCnNkN9mgSMS$VXaFna6-2q#gaP5%[email protected]es who, there will be no need to make a fuss, only blessings”.

((Photo: Xue and Antonia ChqA_b2eI8XgMwEDKeG!4DlMA%mu-2BW$i_7poB=k!P+#2pAZ6vJen share an embrace after getting married. / Provided))

Shane and Marc, meanwhile, wrote on their joint Facebook account that they are more comfortable holding hands on the street than beforok1kXdNSl4Zi^wjYaZRPwR4x+dBkShz)JMPdg1D#^qS_(iRC()e marriage was legal.

(Photo: Marc and Shane / Facebook)

They also told of a story of encountering three men in Shilin nig[email protected]*zyQZ3jX9mP&5#*DulSq=ePr^O0L%##Ge*rPn!6sht market.

They expected the men to make a homol=xuiHmzD9qtub0RhZ&wSiYu%[email protected]phobic comment, but instead they told them to be happy.

“We think that ma1FZpHDId^Et)k=M!e)T#HiGq-cz^K0BxIGQ(Jmd5h-*wTs9b3%ybe this is the true meaning of marriage” the pair wrote. “Everyone can truly understand the meaning of love”.

Well-knYgiOxB*fm_sNvvuQ-G+9Nsb!X*Y2bmudtu8#DP6Ya2ha!C2vleown cartoonist, Cynical Chick, who married LiYing Chien in May, also shared a story of positive acceptance.

((Photo: Cynical Chick and LiYing Chien register their marS5o4+FV21rENcVaqMi=AfyD!icJtgotgF#yBr&fst9UXj-Y*QBriage in May / Provided))

She recalled how when she was opening a joint a bait#[email protected])2CcGRZ=dMer&=dIBJbP0(E7lKz&w!FPcon9cnk 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 opened a bank accou[email protected][email protected]*p1efKO+)!Ch+b_9VfqxruOnt for a lesbian couple. “So she’ll know she’s not alone” he explained.

"It's been a hundred days since weyo=IVk!m#Vqt2)COIFjvsuuaFNL$N%a_hCVB40JQ8VmF%zyaqO were married, and we are very happy and cherish such happiness."

How did Taiwan legalize same-sex marriage?

Taiwan’BxZPkKUQDcWlknqYoiMfiSkE^pyvrBRi0*h-)7)OL0GFf#2LdHs parliament became the first in Asia to pass a same-sex marriage bill on 17 May.

The government bill, which largely avoidshjIO%j8J+wPL(4VO!3p(^CST1AZ1x%hK*Yq_dXQ3Hf)GThXfJ$ the term ‘marriage’, had been labeled a compromise by LGBTI rights campaigners.

In 2017, the country’s highest court ruled themF)$8-+3W)&kPbDh1ft8i=vm8UC(U9f8ux6-hJ!d#L%kNik8Td 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 law rather than changing the civil code which would have jMYT&G%J4zbnkUgVjS3aR_ifU2apBM3VKaxGMp5d3S-oI&wJFKbrought genuine equality.

LGBTI t*Xr#nqFx7jcB0HHL3Gd&bx#Snb)b8ENmvrph8=mrqFS&xeiQ*rights campaigners accused conservative and Christian groups of running a well-funded campaign of hate and scare-mongering.

Taiwan’s parliament voted in favor of a government bill offering same-sex couples similar rights to opposite-sex couples after years of )32U=SZRu#4phGJy)(($qR5gTUv4Dia)[email protected])-5nzgEcourt rulings, referendums, and tussles in parliament.

The crucial 4th line of the bill passed with 93 lawmakers voting for the bill[email protected]^hc_rp([email protected]+CaklHX3Mv%9ryEi^(Uv-$FHT7025%dk, 66 opposing, and 27 abstaining.

((Photo: One of the couples to mar[email protected][email protected]_P!vA1%ry on 24 May. / Provided))

Thousands of LGBTI rights supporters gathered outside parliament and cheered as the vote was announceW6th3TaV30^[email protected])xjz3o1Ed.

In a last-minute effort to appease conservative lawmakers, Taiwan’s ruling party removed tTiaF5T*D9Vfp=kTh#-Lfd)-X(xxMNeVkcuZthZ-F55r5PZnl(Nhe word ‘marriage’ from the bill.

But, same-sex couples can still get register for marriage in thegszI!DIg%6TJ4iJP5upvSj))4PP0^7)7$M!B4niU6pbsHO=P9q same way as other couples. Couples can only adopt children if the child is the biological child of one of the couple.

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.