Gay advocacy groups yesterday announced the results of an evaluation conducted on Taipei’s mayoral candidates, finding that all three candidates lack concrete policies on promoting gay rights.
Independent candidate Neil Peng (馮光遠) was commended as the only candidate to openly support gay marriage.
On a scale ranging from 3 points to minus-3 points, Peng received the highest score at 1.5 points, followed by independent candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) at minus-1. The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Sean Lien (連勝文) trailed last with minus-3 points.
Photo: Kuo An-chia, Taipei Times
Victoria Hsu (許秀雯), a lawyer and executive director of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, said Peng’s early work as a screenwriter helped raise his awareness of the gay community in Taiwan. However, Hsu also condemned Peng’s recent demand that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and National Security Council Secretary-General King Pu-tsung (金溥聰) “come out” as a couple.
“No one has the right, ever, to demand that a gay person come out, considering the institutional pressure that gays and lesbians endure,” Hsu said.
The advocates also strongly criticized Lien’s repeated refusals to take a stance on gay marriage. Lien has refused to make any comment on the issue of same-sex marriage beyond saying it is “very complicated.”
“When Lien treats gays and lesbians as something to be shied away from, as something that cannot be discussed, this kind of evasive silence only acts as an accomplice to homophobia in our society,” Hsu said.
Hsu said that although Ko initially made insensitive remarks about the gay community, he has improved over the course of the election campaign.
“Ko has recently stated his belief that gay marriage is a question of basic human rights. However, we would like to know whether he proposes to establish a special article for same-sex couples or make fundamental amendments to civil law,” Hsu said, noting that gay advocates prefer the latter.
Chang Ming-hsu (張明旭), convener of student group Gay & Lesbian Awakening Day, said although Taipei was the first city in Asia to provide public funding for an annual gay pride event in 2000, no further progress has been made.
Hsu said that a wide variety of policies at the municipal level could aid in ensuring the rights of gays and lesbians. For example, the city could allow the registration of relationship status between same-sex partners, useful in the case of signing medical papers or receiving mail. The city could also take the lead by allowing its employees marital leave for same-sex couples.
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