Newlywed same-sex couples in Taiwan marked 7D1di&BDSxwFPp!&NU1h-+3P+EZOA73YvDNYn8TMvXHbFUC3QF100 days of marriage equality this weekend.

Taiwan became the first country in Asia to rxpo_)6RJH!Q%#gW$_c=jMP0Sujk(=+Uw$&SJS^tzAyb)qL^zu1ecognize same-sex unions on 24 May.

It came after years of court hearings, debates in parliament, and hemQazaeAAIG2CFRRoxc$90RXRZz=2OEoi$7kJlz3*3vHqpD5b$9artbreaking referendums in November last year.

But, in the first month alone, i&ocCyuIOyFOP^n5Pc_A)zvzhS9BM5pwUt$mtt9#65#w@cF%(Eat least 1,000 same-sex couples tied the knot. 

Some of the first couples to marry in Asia shared jC(*eL8!#TzBh#ZS3let(NJlok#20t526WSkN18dx8PR8j!m$$their experiences in commemorative social media posts.

“Cherish happiness"

Chen Xue, who married hert=rsbulK33k693roY9vPrBXfo5XJWFzuU5c0wxpHg7ZLGY7Oo7 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, z2dpJgK7skpM%@9*Ia7hyD^@P+e3wy&jN$ySENKxR9+-6&KgFhwhoever marries who, there will be no need to make a fuss, only blessings”.

((Photo: Xue and Antonia Chen share an 9PEHjFnJjV#vR3Va@hr6jE0I%zy8_P2eynR)!tXGDzFA&cZ8)5embrace 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 before kXORX8nO_9a79msOm(7i#_n(t#)y4(85SwY1@Gx#dEPn3k_blJmarriage was legal.

(Photo: Marc and Shane / Facebook)

They ^OaxrMN#vGfT0OhG(gKwp7(UAg&(AKBuH%sDg6o3s7GcqP1weJalso told of a story of encountering three men in Shilin night market.

They expected the men to makY*XgT-_sdbxCmmi3smRW#4@!xyb#)$n0EG&4jVr)sMJAS2CeXXe a homophobic comment, but instead they told them to be happy.

“We think that maybe this is the true meaning of marriagtm*8Kz3B2CBmU(A(wzWhK*ml0MP#$yGCQ@U%7vjp$EP1L(o+zLe” the pair wrote. “Everyone can truly understand the meaning of love”.

Well-kn(2bqj@BPz6XIG#Sg=P4f9p2D_kuqn-sKLDD$7lx^CahdJd2FOyown cartoonist, Cynical Chick, who married LiYing Chien in May, also shared a story of positive acceptance.

((Photo: Cynical Chick and LiYing Chien registVoZTY=94LlOL_*^)kqVQH9^yE3hEh_j)DNBy6hJALz$(@N_^uNer their marriage in May / Provided))

She recalled how when she was opening a joint a bank account with her new wife, thpcqbFT17i4E2j&&(VhHf5fCDfr^C1&70Bi9HXYll5a8qg)v)ohe 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 acYwHpf^Bfppvn&)=HGQ1SiI*W2Hh^ItG2Van2WHxvXW3*kd)_A$count for a lesbian couple. “So she’ll know she’s not alone” he explained.

"It's been a hundred days since we were married, and we are very happy and ch=ssi5O+dC@_YGGtSXy@PXl45ls3=oP%he+XC^fy9kKIm3tBIy4erish such happiness."

How did Taiwan legalize same-sex marriage?

Taiwan’s parliament became the first iz9fsFGYJgTB6L&bTx6VbPap*WM#WRIq99rFvxklXWZx4tqPZjDn Asia to pass a same-sex marriage bill on 17 May.

The government bill, which largely avoid)l-5X0lY(19*eSARs*$sKc9(GdnGmb$*n+2e--qnSXuJc(W8OJs the term ‘marriage’, had been labeled a compromise by LGBTI rights campaigners.

In 2017, the country’s highest court ruled the Civil Code was unconstitutional for failing to recognize same-seMI(AV)Ui9O@D05cu2KaQN8$XwTf2cZwCh(hTnF74Q67yacTdvBx 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 bro2^xdp&2N@B&eMah0n29+8(Jj-QD7!I8ODDN0rv9NGkyTF9$vkSught genuine equality.

LGBTI rights campaigners accused conservative and Christian groups of running a well-funded campaign of hateTE!Gr@h1pY6A0Y!F!WKE%$ff-)PwT7@-OiN#pu4kffrHJpibw5 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, referendums, and tussoAME6$29ywyyGvES$syA_GG3F8F%vKq0(6ZEy5m*UFZ&$10BE&les in parliament.

The crucialFEw2lr!UI2v4V(qM#nT2JWWUl8P%ZHS)^kQ6Bs*Jk06rM5Zi&a 4th line of the bill passed with 93 lawmakers voting for the bill, 66 opposing, and 27 abstaining.

((Photo: One of the couples to marry on 24 May. / PrY!M1k$UzH!j_NMrwhiccCgQf#mhCrQIgc7vhT4O!EhO(rt^vZvovided))

Thousands of LsNtATB3JwWpfxO%NN%I$by2Lpq2iXoOmmJaCn*MeRXJkY7yJ5bGBTI rights supporters gathered outside parliament and cheered as the vote was announced.

In a last-minute effort to appease conservative lawmake)BqXB#2oqea867Qo-FK=j!pdA7cu%5uNAn5G@nd=dyBQn12(Prrs, Taiwan’s ruling party removed the word ‘marriage’ from the bill.

But, same-sex couples can still get registeAG@XLH(P*3Zb(xXSW&R(&PX3MA4qLiOsnM@&2b42orH*V(=t$sr 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 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.