Any law that follows from the passage of referendums initiated by groups opposed to same-sex marriage cannot contradict the Council of Grand Justices’ Interpretation No. 748, as it came from the highest ranks of the legal hierarchy, the Judicial Yuan said yesterday.
Interpretations from the grand justices have equal legal weight as the Constitution, Judicial Yuan Secretary-General Lu Tai-lang (呂太郎) told a meeting of the legislature’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee in Taipei.
Although two referendums were passed that oppose amending the Civil Code to allow for same-sex marriage, the Legislative Yuan cannot pass laws that oppose the interpretation, Lu said.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
The decision delivered on May 24 last year states that provisions in the Civil Code that define marriage as between a man and a woman contravene the Constitution, and required that new regulations be introduced within two years to protect marriage equality.
All three referendums initiated by the Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation were passed on Saturday.
They proposed excluding education about gay people from elementary and junior-high schools, restricting the Civil Code’s definition of marriage to a union between a man and woman, and drafting a separate law to protect same-sex marriage.
Two referendums supporting the inclusion of same-sex marriage in the Civil Code and the teaching of gender-equality education in elementary and junior-high schools were rejected.
Executive Yuan spokeswoman Kolas Yotaka on Sunday said that the government would draft a separate law in three months to extend equal marriage rights to same-sex couples.
Separately yesterday, Judicial Yuan President Hsu Tzong-li (許宗力) on the sidelines of the opening of a film festival in Taipei offered words of encouragement to the nation’s LGBT community.
After the referendum results were announced, the Judicial Yuan heard from some LGBT people who had contemplated suicide because of the results, Hsu said.
“I want to use this opportunity to call on people who supported the failed pro-LGBT referendums to not lose their spirit, to be emotionally strong and to not feel disappointed,” Hsu said.
The rights of the LGBT community have already been protected by the interpretation, which would not be affected by the referendums, he added.
However, the referendum results would have a legally binding effect on the administrative and legislative branches of the government, which might have to protect marriage equality via a separate law, Hsu said.
A separate law would not necessarily afford unequal treatment to the LGBT community, as it would depend on its content, he added.
ENDEAVOR MANTA: The ship is programmed to automatically return to its designated home port and would self-destruct if seized by another party The Endeavor Manta, Taiwan’s first military-specification uncrewed surface vehicle (USV) tailor-made to operate in the Taiwan Strait in a bid to bolster the nation’s asymmetric combat capabilities made its first appearance at Kaohsiung’s Singda Harbor yesterday. Taking inspiration from Ukraine’s navy, which is using USVs to force Russia’s Black Sea fleet to take shelter within its own ports, CSBC Taiwan (台灣國際造船) established a research and development unit on USVs last year, CSBC chairman Huang Cheng-hung (黃正弘) said. With the exception of the satellite guidance system and the outboard motors — which were purchased from foreign companies that were not affiliated with Chinese-funded
PERMIT REVOKED: The influencer at a news conference said the National Immigration Agency was infringing on human rights and persecuting Chinese spouses Chinese influencer “Yaya in Taiwan” (亞亞在台灣) yesterday evening voluntarily left Taiwan, despite saying yesterday morning that she had “no intention” of leaving after her residence permit was revoked over her comments on Taiwan being “unified” with China by military force. The Ministry of the Interior yesterday had said that it could forcibly deport the influencer at midnight, but was considering taking a more flexible approach and beginning procedures this morning. The influencer, whose given name is Liu Zhenya (劉振亞), departed on a 8:45pm flight from Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) to Fuzhou, China. Liu held a news conference at the airport at 7pm,
KAOHSIUNG CEREMONY: The contract chipmaker is planning to build 5 fabs in the southern city to gradually expand its 2-nanometer chip capacity Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s biggest contract chipmaker, yesterday confirmed that it plans to hold a ceremony on March 31 to unveil a capacity expansion plan for its most advanced 2-nanometer chips in Kaohsiung, demonstrating its commitment to further investment at home. The ceremony is to be hosted by TSMC cochief operating officer Y.P. Chyn (秦永沛). It did not disclose whether Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) and high-ranking government officials would attend the ceremony. More details are to be released next week, it said. The chipmaker’s latest move came after its announcement earlier this month of an additional US$100 billion
Authorities yesterday elaborated on the rules governing Employment Gold Cards after a US cardholder was barred from entering Taiwan for six years after working without a permit during a 2023 visit. American YouTuber LeLe Farley was barred after already being approved for an Employment Gold Card, he said in a video published on his channel on Saturday. Farley, who has more than 420,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel, was approved for his Gold Card last month, but was told at a check-in counter at the Los Angeles International Airport that he could not enter Taiwan. That was because he previously participated in two
RSS