Despite the stormy weather, on Tuesday night dozens of gay-rights advocates — many of them Christian — gathered outside the headquarters of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan in Taipei to protest the church’s decision to oppose same-sex marriage.
Amid pouring rain, lightning and thunder, about 50 people stood outside the church, praying and holding candles and banners that read: “Where is justice? Faith is dead” and “The church’s moral courage that lasted 150 years is gone,” to pressure the church to overturn its decision to oppose same-sex marriage.
A young Christian man marched to the church’s headquarters carrying a wooden cross, with the slogan “Jesus shoulders the stigma from the church and society for you.”
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The nighttime rally was triggered by a letter issued by the church’s general assembly, which announced that the church would officially oppose same-sex marriage.
While many Christian churches have voiced their opposition to same-sex marriage, the pastoral letter from the Presbyterian church is considered unacceptable by many of its members, as well as gay rights activists, since the church has long been a symbol of human rights in Taiwan and many of its pastors have openly supported same-sex marriage and are active in the campaign to legalize homosexual marriage.
Clergy within the church have split views on the issue, with most pastors affiliated with the general assembly and churches in the north supporting same-sex marriage, while pastors in the south oppose it.
The letter came as a result of a motion made jointly by pastors representing two Presbyterian churches in Greater Kaohsiung and supported by several other churches in the south.
The motion led to heated debate among church members, but was eventually adopted and confirmed by the general assembly on Tuesday afternoon.
In related news, gay rights activists yesterday urged Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Liao Cheng-ching (廖正井) and Lu Hsueh-chang (呂學樟) — co-chairs of the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statues Committee — to quickly schedule meetings to review amendments to the Civil Code that are designed to legalize same-sex marriage.
“In 1996, when I was married to my [same-sex] partner Gray Harriman, [Greater] Kaohsiung mayor Chen Chu [陳菊] — who was the director of the Taipei City Department of Social Affairs at the time — gave us a wedding present with the words ‘love is a fundamental human right,’” writer and gay rights activist Hsu Yu-sheng (許佑生) told a news conference at the legislature.
“I was 35 years old at the time, now I’m 53, and am still fighting for equality in marriage,” Hsu said.
“Many countries have legalized same-sex marriage, we’re falling too far behind,” he said.
Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights executive director Victoria Hsu (許秀雯) said that gay rights advocacy groups delivered their own versions of amendments to allow same-sex marriage three years ago, and the proposal passed the initial phase seven months ago, “but the committee chairs have never scheduled a review of the proposed amendment, ignoring the 150,000 people who signed a petition in support of same-sex marriage.”
Following the press conference, the group delivered more than 2,000 cards signed by supporters of gay marriage to Liao’s office, urging Liao and Lu to quickly schedule reviews of the amendment.
In response, Liao’s office said by telephone that it has not been trying to block the proposal, but instead Liao hopes to hear more public opinion on the highly controversial amendment before scheduling a review.
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