Newlywy2MzObyhVk2WhWiqI*fmK77Gw=CcNE3V!S2t5Tp+=P=06M%7@@ed same-sex couples in Taiwan marked 100 days of marriage equality this weekend.

Taiwan became the first country in Asia to recognize rydkBR@5tRu+PtEx()&e1E9)_qdc0+jRWB5deJK45#oaZ$97qesame-sex unions on 24 May.

It came after years of court hearings, debatesen*yrWg+(au9Pph5_^e)FZKQLFe!&OCOM5lTk+%%DI_NTY73)B in parliament, and heartbreaking referendums in November last year.

But, in 4!va7egT6AXhpp1aN=aZv8FaVn2-lLWu$X2xU6(Rh4m!!-6P5Dthe first month alone, at least 1,000 same-sex couples tied the knot. 

Some of the first couples to marry in Asia shared their experiences in commLv9xs8RmMP^pTRv6nbzlj7U3Edy-h5#kAEy$)Uuf($pNNg*vRvemorative social media posts.

“Cherish happiness"

Chen Xu87wrg0SfJPDHVT(t)L@rNt4tSGdhJTKZKB2cAF0*$dKHo7Gc@fe, 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 book.

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

"In the days to come, whoever marries who, there will be no need KC1U_f8PrOM4d#xO@X@@3lZHdO(p6jB&&Exdp!G5anv@#9lDhRto make a fuss, only blessings”.

((Photo: Xue al0Kbf=Mh(l4RZ0U760pJyVMu-$tdqKAfy))qLLkow8&PqdibFOnd Antonia Chen share an embrace after getting married. / Provided))

Shane and Marc, meanwhile, wrote -DL)X2#%$cNG0)cWSRH1&1Y!8ZP5Nd7ureim)dyHwcnLy5mmk^on their joint Facebook account that they are more comfortable holding hands on the street than before marriage was legal.

(Photo: Marc and Shane / Facebook)

They also told of a story of encounteriX-H5AiN86IvOe%wducSA!y1CC80Z9b1YL2gJNsT=(3o(1Vp_(Vng three men in Shilin night market.

They expected the men to make a homophobic comment, but instead they told them to bebg=01NktEd+i@Tf@406GCT6cGy!mB%CvPznCaN%3$#*yhMQ=GY happy.

“We think that maybe this is the true_eM)2olZ$6Y=(C6(6*tr2W(qpvS=eF0FgW-udxMXo3o902Xni0 meaning of marriage” the pair wrote. “Everyone can truly understand the meaning of love”.

Well-known cartoonist, Cynical Chick, who marXa2rVM8&PHXW2=gGjj#m=F$ANwij0UEC1U&J0kJwRZqBvo7wu^ried LiYing Chien in May, also shared a story of positive acceptance.

((Photo: Cynical Chick and MpXKU@-1NzdffE7PksmF!CE(MQWP+lyR5vPG@LkrSztZ32No#XLiYing Chien register their marriage in May / Provided))

She recalled how when she was opening a joint aUR4SOFuJH-1-EVyD-F*U+vIWJHNPoMpZrcw_OWS@-BpBlxXeLo 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 opened a bank account for a lesbian couple. “So she’ll knoW2t2B%v6(alhMe)c8^T0OBfdrQyMpGmd$Wo8^4Ao)ykqI0SWD!w she’s not alone” he explained.

"It's been a hundred days since we were married, and we are very happy and cherish such happines2918^AsIlwrIGYuYcVN)WM2dAdj7K*QYJ0ymO=+IgRQ*Lz6gRis."

How did Taiwan legalize same-sex marriage?

Taiwan’s parliament became the first in Asia to pas#uHb@qJPjrqZI7rDB!ErRc3_krFe9CxCXGG=YxRtTty!S^OufWs a same-sex marriage bill on 17 May.

The government bill, which largely avoids the term ‘marriage’, had rik=*mS8z^!zLeF46lZBvhGdKSw8&F#l-)rpORtnrTfN&zESR#been labeled a compromise by LGBTI rights campaigners.

In 2017, the country’s highest Ut7umUmNW@ChU!OuZC*K2FNRGjvQDM!cRQI4pPwf=KTgmD!#QWcourt ruled the Civil Code was unconstitutional for failing to recognize same-sex marriage.

But, in a bitterly-fought referendum, most Taiwanese citizens opted f0EF11fX(#GyK9MOf6W4D(J(iprk-mXWDPY!yyZ^W6u=hrL-Dq6or a separate marriage law rather than changing the civil code which would have brought genuine equality.

LGBTI rights cae1K9c8y^CnKSKiuV(t=+X_blbvTrQ67vCLI@Kzw_!2pGH0f2Blmpaigners 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 sXD)=FzTxs)54LgUl%pzR!_#pBW125eCWm4!#TPrwORy75lmuVUimilar rights to opposite-sex couples after years of court rulings, referendums, and tussles in parliament.

The crucial 4th line of the bill passed with 93 lawmakers voting for the bill, 66 oppoc#-h0a=_z!TfqTtWMGPu3sfx!ms7d!r7f$C)2*Y(!ZDlWZXTD_sing, and 27 abstaining.

((Photo: On6xelypJ@ex)Siy0BWS)x(Dw!n(YKJoeo05eH*#If+TNI4&JnBie of the couples to marry on 24 May. / Provided))

Thousands of LGBTI rights suoy683vy#W369Nsu0iZ3WacXX%(PaBz8dUH9K&Isf00r#h0-TN=pporters gathered outside parliament and cheered as the vote was announced.

In a last-minute effort to appease conservativ9SpyJlJ(qTjSsW$yY1LEQWtD9EFnOyZRDi$CvWH(6zzxBYF*LHe lawmakers, Taiwan’s ruling 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 childrQk0xR+qXsq_OCerPraj-YDtoi3iPvLFymI9wgWGWir!Puj!WMTen 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.