The Executive Yuan yesterday said that its proposal to legalize same-sex marriage would set the legal age for such unions at 18 and engagement at 17, while prohibiting those within the sixth degree of consanguinity from getting married.
The Cabinet held a second ad hoc meeting to establish the goals that it is to work toward in the legislative process to legalize same-sex unions.
After reviewing the chapter in the Civil Code governing marriage, the Executive Yuan said that homosexual couples would have to be at least 18 to get married and at least 17 to become engaged, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) told a news conference in Taipei.
The Civil Code stipulates that heterosexual couples must be at least 18 to be legally united and at least 16 to be engaged.
As with heterosexual couples, homosexual couples would have to sign a legal document, have two witnesses bear testimony to their marriage and have their marital status registered at a household registration office before their marriage becomes effective, Chen said.
Same-sex couples younger than 20 who want to get married must obtain the approval of their legal guardians, or the marriage could be voided should their legal representatives file an objection, she said.
The Council of Grand Justices last month said that the Civil Code was unconstitutional for not allowing same-sex unions, violating their constitutional right to freedom and equality, Chen said.
The ruling granted homosexual couples the freedom to get married, she said, adding that yesterday’s meeting was aimed at ensuring they would have equality in marriage.
As with heterosexuals, same-sex couples would not be allowed to marry a relative within the sixth degree of consanguinity, according to the Executive Yuan’s draft proposal, meaning that they would not be able to marry their second cousin or a closer relatives.
The prohibitions are because social expectations discourage close relatives from getting married, even though same-sex couples cannot produce children, she said.
The Executive Yuan would base its proposal on the conclusions reached yesterday, regardless of the legislature deciding to amend the Civil Code or pass a special act governing homosexual marriage, Chen said.
Chen said that the proposed rule requiring same-sex couples younger than 20 to obtain the permission of their legal guardians before they can get married is to protect minors.
Same-sex couples younger than 20 would not have their marriages invalidated if their parents do not file a claim, she said.
However, the public has been clamoring for the legal age for marriage to be lowered to 18 to bring it in line with some European nations, which is a scenario that would likely occur if the Civil Code is further amended, she said.
Chen said that the Cabinet would recommend that the legal age at which heterosexual couples can be engaged be changed to 17 so that the rules would be consistent.
The Executive Yuan is to hold another meeting next week to lay out principles on the distribution of marital assets and liability, residence and how names would be affected in same-sex unions, she said.
US President Donald Trump yesterday announced sweeping "reciprocal tariffs" on US trading partners, including a 32 percent tax on goods from Taiwan that is set to take effect on Wednesday. At a Rose Garden event, Trump declared a 10 percent baseline tax on imports from all countries, with the White House saying it would take effect on Saturday. Countries with larger trade surpluses with the US would face higher duties beginning on Wednesday, including Taiwan (32 percent), China (34 percent), Japan (24 percent), South Korea (25 percent), Vietnam (46 percent) and Thailand (36 percent). Canada and Mexico, the two largest US trading
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
China's military today said it began joint army, navy and rocket force exercises around Taiwan to "serve as a stern warning and powerful deterrent against Taiwanese independence," calling President William Lai (賴清德) a "parasite." The exercises come after Lai called Beijing a "foreign hostile force" last month. More than 10 Chinese military ships approached close to Taiwan's 24 nautical mile (44.4km) contiguous zone this morning and Taiwan sent its own warships to respond, two senior Taiwanese officials said. Taiwan has not yet detected any live fire by the Chinese military so far, one of the officials said. The drills took place after US Secretary
RSS