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.
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
Temperatures are forecast to drop steadily as a continental cold air mass moves across Taiwan, with some areas also likely to see heavy rainfall, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. From today through early tomorrow, a cold air mass would keep temperatures low across central and northern Taiwan, and the eastern half of Taiwan proper, with isolated brief showers forecast along Keelung’s north coast, Taipei and New Taipei City’s mountainous areas and eastern Taiwan, it said. Lows of 11°C to 15°C are forecast in central and northern Taiwan, Yilan County, and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties, and 14°C to 17°C
STEERING FAILURE: The first boat of its class is experiencing teething issues as it readies for acceptance by the navy, according to a recent story about rudder failure The Hai Kun (海鯤), the nation’s first locally built submarine, allegedly suffered a total failure of stern hydraulic systems during the second round of sea acceptance trials on June 26, and sailors were forced to manually operate the X-rudder to turn the submarine and return to port, news Web site Mirror Daily reported yesterday. The report said that tugboats following the Hai Kun assisted the submarine in avoiding collisions with other ships due to the X-rudder malfunctioning. At the time of the report, the submarine had completed its trials and was scheduled to begin diving and surfacing tests in shallow areas. The X-rudder,
DEMAND: The government should enact regulations in line with Austria and Germany to incorporate vegan nutrition into school meals, an advocate said More than 1,000 people yesterday marched in Taipei to promote veganism, calling for legislation to incorporate vegan diets into school lunches and the national net zero emissions program. Participants gathered on Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office Building for the march, which was organized by the Vegan Action Network (VAN). Former ambassador to Chad Chiu Chung-jen (邱仲仁), actor Yankee Yang (楊子儀) and actress Cindy Lien (連俞涵) attended the event. VAN member Marianne Chao (趙梅君) said that the campaign aimed to urge the government to promote vegan diets across schools and government agencies via legislation and national policies, which would help build
RSS