Lee Jia-fen, wife of presidential hopeful Han Kuo-yu, on Sunday said same-sex marriage in Taiwan was “be1wS#Y38Nb^1D29bE!1HiQexb#$S-7GE4QZGpzlnP+@lV7J@_ysing exploited”.

She said her husband, who is the Kuomintang (KMT) presidential hopefully, would review laws relating to LGBT issues, according to the Liberty Times.

Taiwan in May bPmlAvzOTAm!QY8KPc6oWR^b-5Uz-_LtP4a05h2oJkybI_XSMWnecame the first country in Asia to allow same-sex marriage.

Current president, Tsai Ing-wen, who is up for reelection against Han, signed a bill in May that affords same-sex couples similar rights t%xy$4FcCFEVciFN&uK^X(rmUZ+8NlJvvJo!0T3%4fpRn2fJ9w2o heterosexual couples.

But Lee on Sunday said young V0_Lvv)Q+y@P+29Hhzt*Y8xQ4iK9iHk&9-jFdDLCygfeKk5A0%mothers complained LGBT education was “very chaotic” following the new law. She said it created problems for their education.

“Those in favor [of same-sex marriage] should also respect heterosexuals” Lee told the audience on Sunday.

Lee also said she had homosexual friends who are “kind and good” but “were being exploited”.@+9$6mXIyf*q*+gcRj=MQ@zYU#DsiP-c&0J*QcmttRS(OK4wMD She did not mention who was exploiting same-sex marriage and how they were doing so.

First in Asia

-zKQ@opVNs5-K9Wv7L2*pl5p0R%@Y2*YJ$MLHZU3Z09xdaTnF0After court rulings, referendums, and drama in parliament, Taiwan on 17 May finally enacted a bill that allowed same-sex couples to marry.

But, in a bitterly-fougkx@E=KpSGCykF1h#Ps*3-b_@avt(A$zAsjf+Dp7uD7)V7ExFmOht referendum, most Taiwanese 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 wellEgR#z1AjBHa)wrJKtZ0O^X!v&dWYI!OYs2#8)N7cr+YzPt-8P(-funded campaign of hate and scare-mongering.

Taiwan voters also voted agaiwUQL+2vx(&rRCDI7Q_GDz6r)ql)uw4)+-V)itFmHWiP5*9!fcLnst Taiwan's Gender Equity Education which educates school children about diverse genders and sexualities. 

But, it does not afford them exactly the same rights as same-sex couples. For example, same-sex couples may only adopt a child if it is the biologJ9clTeO@8Ff%-w3!SSPAjjOt*wf5Z6Dxhuy1CREIkVR9itry%4ical child of one of the couple.

The bill also limits transnational marriages. For a foreign national J4kPBXYavuaW0i1epowv2ISE)tcQJi+C+XAdOyqE_9G00HSXxWto marry in Taiwan, same-sex marriage must be legal in their own country.

Taiwan’s parliament approved a bill to legalize sa9*v1kFDnEsJpZlnpLMXsew41qZaS14F3ir@z#hs+)rMT(ZYHO)me-sex marriage on Friday 17 May. It voted in 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.

The government bill, which largely avoids the term ‘marriage’, has been labelled a compromise by LGBTI rigBaKLT3S)vv@NpglXPe^XfeNIQ3$kUZ=KyKmwm)@Y%EI!2T9-kThts campaigners. In 2017, the country’s highest court ruled the Civil Code was unconstitutional for failing to recognize same-sex marriage.

The crucial 4th line of the bill pp!uBjx9D8AKZi80pr_2gSCR%cM%hS!LmKP3Nr6xRcXOA!(rTR+assed with 93 lawmakers voting for the bill, 66 opposing, and 27 abstaining.

(Cover Photo: Han Kuo-yu / Facebook)

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