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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at