About 80 lesbian couples tied the knot in Taiwan’s biggest same-sex “wedding party,” with organizers saying yesterday they hoped Taiwan would become the first place in Asia to legalize gay marriage.
Many of the couples donned white dresses and veils for the “Barbie and Barbie’s wedding,” which was held overnight in downtown Taipei, attracting about 1,000 visitors, including friends, relatives and curious onlookers.
“I feel very hopeful that Taiwan will legalize same-sex marriage soon,” said one of the brides, 32-year-old stylist Celine Chen, who plans a honeymoon in New York, which in June became the sixth US state to legalize gay marriage.
Photo: Sam Yeh, AFP
Even though same-sex unions are not allowed in Taiwan, the ceremonies — which had no legal force — went on smoothly without police interference or protests.
Many of the couples kissed, hugged and posed for photographs while receiving an unofficial certificate from the organizers that stated they were now “united in holy matrimony.”
The event climaxed with a couple exchanging rings and saying “I do” amid roaring cheers from the crowd. However, in a brief moment of sadness, some of the participants acknowledged that the marriages were not bona fide.
“The wedding party is fun, but it’s not real,” said Coral Huang, who has been with her partner for eight years and intends to go to Europe to wed legally. “Getting a genuine marriage certificate is very meaningful as it shows that we are being recognized and accepted.”
Gay marriage is not legal anywhere in Asia and although Nepal’s Supreme Court has approved it, no legislation has been passed in Kathmandu to put the ruling into effect.
Taiwan is becoming more open-minded toward its homosexual population and the country’s gay rights groups last year said they had hosted Asia’s biggest gay pride parade, with a turnout of 30,000 from at home and abroad.
In a 2008 opinion poll by the International Social Survey Programme, a global network dedicated to social science research, 17.5 percent of Taiwanese participants said that homosexual behavior was “not wrong at all.”
While significantly lower than the US, where 32.3 percent held that view, it was much higher than the 5.5 percent in Japan and 4.4 percent in the Philippines.
The Cabinet in 2003 drafted a controversial bill to legalize same-sex marriages and allow homosexual couples to adopt children, but President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) has said public consensus was needed before the government can move ahead with the law.
Some couples remained pessimistic the government would go through with the legislation.
“It is too difficult now as the Taiwanese culture and customs are still more conservative,” said Jessica, a kindergarten teacher who declined to give her last name and who keeps her sexual orientation from her colleagues.
Activists also noted that legalizing gay marriage is unlikely to figure on Taiwan’s political agenda in the near future.
“Politicians say they respect same-sex unions and take it seriously as a human rights issue, but we don’t see them take any actions,” said Chen Pin-ying (陳品穎), executive chief editor of Lez’s Meeting Magazine, which hosted the party.
“This is the political reality as gays are a minority group,” Chen said.
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) officials including Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) are to be summoned for questioning and then transferred to prosecutors for holding an illegal assembly in Taipei last night, the Taipei Police said today. Chu and two others hosted an illegal assembly and are to be requested to explain their actions, the Taipei City Police Department's Zhongzheng (中正) First Precinct said, referring to a protest held after Huang Lu Chin-ju (黃呂錦茹), KMT Taipei's chapter director, and several other KMT staffers were questioned for alleged signature forgery in recall petitions against Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators. Taipei prosecutors had filed
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) yesterday established a friendship group with their counterparts in Ukraine to promote parliamentary exchanges between the two countries. A ceremony in Taipei for the Taiwan-Ukraine Parliamentary Friendship Association, initiated by DPP Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷), was attended by lawmakers and officials, including Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) and European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan Director Lutz Gullner. The increasingly dire situation in Ukraine is a global concern, and Taiwan cannot turn its back when the latter is in need of help, as the two countries share many common values and interests,
RSS