Chung Yuan Christian University in Taoyuan yesterday issued a statement opposing the legalization of same-sex marriage.
Marriage, by its holy nature, should consist of one man and one woman; one husband and one wife, adhering to “nature’s rule of ethics,” the university said in the statement.
A family put together by a father and a mother is a value that should be protected, as it forms the bedrock of family ethics, it said.
Photo: Lee Jung-ping, Taipei Times
Based on the Christian doctrine of holy matrimony and “gender equality,” the university does not approve of same-sex marriage and is against amending laws governing marriage, it said.
With respect to the needs of same-sex couples, the university is in favor of formulating separate laws to protect their rights, it said.
The university, which claims to be founded on the principles of Christianity and “unconditional love,” hopes to create a learning environment that upholds its students’ right to education and extends care through holistic education, it said.
“Chung Yuan Christian University urges like-minded educational facilities and organizations to unite in defending family and marriage values,” it said.
The statement was met with mixed responses from netizens.
A netizen going by the name “naturefly” said that if love can be used as the sole premise to legalize same-sex marriage, it can also be used by members of the public as a pretext to “do as they please,” leading to a range of social issues.
Netizens on the Professional Technology Temple (PTT), the nation’s largest online bulletin board, criticized the university, leaving comments such as: “Chung Yuan is a cram school” and “It is just trying to grab the limelight.”
“I am a student at Chung Yuan. However, I am not a Christian and I disagree with my university,” netizen royaljoy1 said.
Attorney Han Shu-lo (韓書洛) said that while he can relate to Chung Yuan’s stance defending “Christian values,” the university should not have proposed that a separate law be made regarding same-sex unions.
Citing as an example the “separate but equal” doctrine adopted by some US states prior to the civil rights movement to justify racial segregation, Han said that promulgating a separate act for same-sex unions would result in a “pseudo-equality” that was seen in Alabama before the 1960s according to a law that allowed black students to take school buses on the condition that they had separate seating areas.
“If a separate law is made, ‘separate but equal’ would end up being ‘separate but unequal,’” he said.
Chris Wang (王思捷), a former reporter for the Taipei Times who graduated from the university, criticized his alma mater, calling the statement “disgraceful.”
“The school might have felt compelled to declare its position on the issue, because it is founded upon the Christian faith, but it needs to understand that it is a higher-education institute first and foremost, and it has no right to represent all its faculty and students on this matter,” Wang said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
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
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by