Newlywed same-sex couples in Taiwan marked 100 days oVFbicTm0WcN7b8)(euZye(Atth(!a&h)Hnnhh2l_u6b-DMRAOsf marriage equality this weekend.

Taiwan became theODoC1way@-yqjBbgh@q2R#DatSR4ex0bXXs%WuUS@jw7XHQZZ^ first country in Asia to recognize same-sex unions on 24 May.

It came after years of court hearings, debates in parliament, and heartbreaking refeCW^xr3oechv6TuR2z4aBO0tseiicz+ZrS2x*nbbXG7f-dnVB)grendums in November last year.

But, in the first month alone, at least 1,000 same-A6vZXDIIg=y3DVf^bY@jXqUnhM)LUaPKWblglaJwI*gBHik8H!sex couples tied the knot. 

Some of the first couples to marSA4w1bzAE02fx01#ozs=xE_dqZfeVL=j_fk7p1DyBX+IP(wxDHry 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 wishes 73$!o@5jzL)6o6aww38xLspp+g0eI@wAV2+2ZFPY$Np2u1++I3in a wedding book.

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

"In the days to come, whoever marries who, there will be MyFngU+UvAgJ_NTuYtmqM)+tZSSts5kMIZBN99RsIXo&^Y#ELnno need to make a fuss, only blessings”.

(Photo: Xue and Antonia Chen share anWP$(j(q(9Gu&iL+GC+33X%zduCAxvs7gWgY202lye2Ak1(9zB$ embrace after getting married. / Provided)

Shane and Marc, meanwhile, wrote on their joint Facebook account tyGhf7yw-1p(D(%wW2+aRyRJH&0a2cKEJwVfugJgCfVL2!kgor+hat they are more comfortable holding hands on the street than before marriage was legal.

(Photo: Marc and Shane / Facebook)

They also told of a stohZVoH5WJ_*)#*6kk#9t*iiwOFN5nIwchOf8w)NLBt3!+6cKXJ1ry of encountering three men in Shilin night market.

They expected the men to make657)@Lu7$eoK&AiDi7!*m-W)ZD&Y@!DJg+PQeocMgaAUTVFm5* a homophobic comment, but instead they told them to be happy.

“We think that maybe this is the true meaning of marriage” the pair wrote. “EveET*nj=l+RUe(pOpD4tZdnm(2GKwf-Pqr$DtMV2JRf7qCCQPVf=ryone can truly understand the meaning of love”.

Well-known cartoonist, Cynical Chick, who married LiYing Chien in May, also sJg&O95e@2uqYfw#_yW+YkcLzOea1-oVb_stjS$mDGwNAhS4eDwhared a story of positive acceptance.

(Photo: Cynical VOlet)$LZa@KEWvVW$Q_JsC8-JOhaPQ-m+nvW$qXPwkt)VZuwuChick and LiYing Chien register their marriage in May / Provided)

She recalled how when she was opening a joint a bank account with her new wife, the bank clerk asked h^jIjH!v*60Sp1ZEOffi@aIA0*qL74JXnXo&SmIFrCQoz&e&_N)er 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 account for a lesbian couple. “So she’ll know she’s not alone”+_%D#yjZW-nSD-UFNqOhXrO=oUvUtC33RAIb)UhNSib#ow0)1x he explained.

"It's been a hundred days since we were2f^m9my(X)Kefr#qe%iWQ-Myi%f*48jbp42lGX3_3Ywv1X6L4K married, and we are very happy and cherish such happiness."

How did Taiwan legalize same-sex marriage?

Taiwan’s Km1h8KWGNBQW#PA-Z23kBL=Emv5FrwXqexSeKx2t^05NoqxDifparliament became the first in Asia to pass a same-sex marriage bill on 17 May.

The government bill, which largely avoids the term ‘marriage’, had been labeled a compromise UvoqwN+mF7aN_QIB1)h0GB5AlV$UZyKV+fYbbn1UkQd#dhF3a=by LGBTI rights campaigners.

In 2017, the country’s highest court ruled the Civil Code was unconstitutional for failing to recognize same-sexZL6NgwTkg@9rQOcfx7tfhWJSKoWaJO+$ZRHqWLG48QvJWf!lga marriage.

But, in a bitterly-fought referendum, most ^7T!#$Prp(oPDv!)!Rx7ayO$O6=0=iAq$CtGxPOpnqqfFr+3sHTaiwanese citizens opted for a separate marriage law 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 scareh_q-iM1zrir#mh^&$rQ*tW3UUaKrYZ!jMNJ@Fz&wBHaE-A4ATC-mongering.

Taiwan’s parliament voted iAOn#1vX=R^n(k8EAw0Bb)#nEX2wN+kG#G&@*HEgv%i#Uh*T8xBn favor of a government bill offering same-sex couples similar rights to opposite-sex couples after years of court rulings, referendums, and tussles in parliament.

9QNz=gLFrI$v0o+JkRBl+x^$Hg^wwKcPuW*fb7W7oFjbdjxv3GThe crucial 4th line of the bill passed with 93 lawmakers voting for the bill, 66 opposing, and 27 abstaining.

(Photo: HUgz9#miSG2@kvM9w&(VhsPnx1h-3d1W=$Y9OFam9c(g(xLC)gOne of the couples to marry on 24 May. / Provided)

Thousands of LGB@(E@T(Z=7&ITLsK^yyVgeNdBEx^ch$ML+2^CFcjrOF14fcNajHTI rights supporters gathered outside parliament and cheered as the vote was announced.

In a last-minute effort to appease conservative lawmakers, Taiwan’s ruling party remoU5OnotGbL^0O&pW9Cj+SfJ(3Gw&KVXu*q#B6@KE#YUu^VTPpRZved 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 chf1B(XhX#=U++tnJ@sfRj-d6LHMe^D)I_Va!CrIb2N@9p2cH8Wrild 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(xAn_q%NP8KdQ=$3NUOKsM8*l$INvcd57UqogwInmP@Ty3M-Ba-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.