Newlywed same-sex co+SDCWVAc@*!hg4t8V^IsM(Gu@vT^(k^MdY&X+^afRk$*2*gNKvuples in Taiwan marked 100 days of marriage equality this weekend.

Taiwan became the first country *SD5x#fmiQ6)m5+ux$Hs9*hmjBzGIos8X3-8f0C-MmhGFfix4Sin Asia to recognize same-sex unions on 24 May.

It came after years of court hearings, debates in parliament, and heartbreaking referendumsm^(Gk2k2dgokt2M&MY+qdv@e((f&bN*Pr+G4pk2(7S$+U4^09d in November last year.

But, in the first month alone, -LpJTC@vcl=(!1&Th(bC20dt1797epF#u%m#j3_!zstL-Izv+Iat least 1,000 same-sex couples tied the knot. 

Some of the first couples to marry in Asia shared their experiences in commemorative social media 9VNBra-WeUBcPgL*3dbz(v(VSKA4S9#w5k-dNXy(Apbv0%zk-@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 in a wedding _-Lzh&%7&xhF#_QMS!7x3!hMEulTPLnCHy2EnEs3-ScpWL$ddZbook.

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

"In #*i*lqws2R7RMxwl&JDU=&W9uj3I&a$zCmvhC+9CxX2-B%SfZgthe days to come, whoever marries who, there will be no need to make a fuss, only blessings”.

((Photo: Xue and Antoni=6)&2ZJg8XlJc8#-iojxDeVb1DcLxHQF=Gzm&0b!&Da#$My!Z@a Chen share an embrace after getting married. / Provided))

Shane and Marc, meanwhile, wrote on their joint Facebook account that they are more comfortablerl6VCt1M88hcyCyvD&fK+z@4H524()^@EV7aC&9qUsrXi+#y(6 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 Shilin nighb6zpbiu*X0N=JZsT_QzRg-_rm#7fsB)fo3=!NVU_H@!M(Yx&FPt market.

They expected the men to make a homophobic comment, but instead they6XW!MfmOri#3cF@DNozFb*keRJdWvG__!OM%Ly+-SA)62UL4NG told them to be happy.

“We think that maybe this is the true meaning of marriage” thCC^gwSDy(YQK9XqbnrC*bfBSyy@=@g3UqRWyHWZYiGGR9pX=UTe pair wrote. “Everyone can truly understand the meaning of love”.

Well-known cartoonist, Cynical Chick, who married LiYing Chien in May, also shared a story of positive acceptanlqOSzNKKGnj49l=aA$98)(Ir2Zp^D%)52XMEAKddn_Ewo$_Eehce.

((Photo: Cynical Chick and LiYing ChienXI#rU7esnx#(M#1dJbABdzZ9veRu+5igci+gVh)=SDOFAgvk1F 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 her if spJg-Dp)dR6tb4-6fgGmDx3w$+3UR2LRsYP#N0S-WK+S1jK^#Aqhe 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 cxhFgUe7qxl8X*f(^utMENeuQG2rM1tpWNouP%xW&lw1FssB&+*ouple. “So she’ll know she’s not alone” he explained.

"It's b)IpmgJlif7M6q_Jf+gKxA*(ln3%#hY%!SX=prwbM4gTOPAbLf_een a hundred days since we were married, and we are very happy and cherish such happiness."

How did Taiwan legalize same-sex marriage?

Taiwan’s parliament became the firsrdj#mxkCD49(*Hb6(FxLY7avhOi2=ot9*cbF2#!j!5jwfvM(Yrt 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 comp-jLa%W97i^5eb3PxGE-wg*sdLu7kHuHUbzX#G07b!tDjTyXbueromise by LGBTI rights campaigners.

In 2017, the country’s highest couF*af%pNrO4_KTDDD$GMuW3OvBH*F@-fO!x*88ueHnBxG)N_Iqlrt 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 sUrR^@4*PRU*#sg(J*YIFShI=LD54(S4VmzJRaD9KQ(^ahszpMTeparate marriage law rather than changing the civil code which would have brought genuine equality.

LGBTI rights campaigners accused conservative and Christian group-T!Jh)l)18ZB0)9mS@B)yVGw@d2AEgMJ!)amNP&vHw)=YyeOqNs 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 court rulings, referendumvcTY)Z%AYIod5O4VfSJ)qx4e7vspKqDiOS2_=zm=WTOa9khtHis, and tussles in parliament.

The crucial 4th line of the bill passed with 93 lawmakers voting Ce3cKToTYs#5$p)5hZZ^NNE&+mZAa49K3eU(P3e*UIjY*lG4eQfor the bill, 66 opposing, and 27 abstaining.

((Photo: One of the couples to marry on 24 M^PfSibqkC+Ypk5)x$VDB=Me3uIRvofcZ$)-+Hqc3G8Q0NwCS+Zay. / Provided))

ThousanCerOVMIdwIhAw3ap31XKY!qacq-T6thbz!GQapvOZshcwamcb3ds of LGBTI rights supporters gathered outside parliament and cheered as the vote was announced.

In a last-minute effort to appease conservative lawmakersj_ZCvfL8b9RBIuggWeYQYpsc5QV$RXkMvCfB5DBWKl)8zXCtTb, Taiwan’s ruling party removed the word ‘marriage’ from the bill.

But, same-sex couples can still get register foo2mW1T1aBPHVjk%qJBm*HRce#jpGGUAz$h5C*EhduKNK6RdD_&r marriage in the 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.
 

Yi-min lives alone with her son, as her husband works away from home. She meets Tinting at a wedding, a girl she once had some history with back in highschool. Back in the days, Yi-min denied their relationship out of fear of living as a lesbian woman, but meeting Tingting again reignites something in her, a possibility to escape her dull married life. Now that Taiwan has leagalised same-sex marrige, can Yi-min find the courage to admit her feelings? With the future of a child in her hands and under the pressure of her husband, her family-in-law and her own family, will she follow through with this new chapter in her life?