The Council of Grand Justices’ decision to hold a constitutional review on same-sex marriage represents an important breakthrough, but could also be a double-edged sword, marriage equality proponents said yesterday.
“We believe that the justice’s willingness to review this issue is a step forward, because they could have chosen to keep shelving the case and ignoring it,” said Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights secretary-general Chien Chih-chieh (簡至潔) , whose organization has represented long-time gay rights advocate Chi Chia-wei (祁家威) in a renewed suit to overturn legal restrictions on marriage equality.
The council on Friday announced it would broadcast a live debate on Chi’s case next month, and also submitted a request for constitutional interpretation by Taipei City’s Bureau of Civil Affairs.
Prior to the council’s announcement, Chien said that Chi’s case had been shelved for a year-and-a-half due to the failure of at least three of the council’s 17 justices to agree to the review.
Six of the seven justices appointed last year expressed support for same-sex marriage during questioning at the Legislative Yuan.
“The Legislative Yuan announced in December last year that a review of same-sex marriage legislation would start again in April, so the Judicial Yuan’s choice to hold hearings in March is extremely interesting and we trust that it is not a coincidence,” she said, attributing the council’s decision to renewed social debate after the introduction of bills late last year.
“Depending on the social atmosphere, either legislative or judicial legalization is possible at this point, and greater visibility and discussion will make it more likely that one route or the other will succeed,” she said, while adding that the court’s ruling could be a double-edged sword, depending on its content.
“It is not impossible that the court will rule to uphold the constitutionality of the existing laws, but we feel the probability of such a ruling is not great,” she said.
“Next comes the question of what should be done and whether there should be amendments to the Civil Code, or the passage of a separate set of laws guaranteeing the rights of same-sex couples,” she added.
Current debate has revolved around how legal protections for same-sex couples should be bolstered — not whether new measures are required.
Meanwhile, the anti-marriage equality Happiness of the Next Generation Alliance issued a statement calling for the council to first review whether same-sex attraction is innate or a disorder requiring treatment before moving into discussions about constitutionality.
“The court should also consider effects on the public and children’s interests, as well as the possibility of a social, educational and cultural ‘earthquake,’” the group said.
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of
The entire Alishan Forest Railway line is to reopen for the first time in 15 years on Saturday, with tickets to go on sale at 2pm today. The historic railway from Chiayi to Alishan (阿里山) is finally set to reopen after the completion of the final No. 42 tunnel, Alishan Forest Railway and Cultural Heritage Office Deputy Director-General Chou Heng-kai (周恆凱) said. It is to run on a new timetable, with four trains daily, he said. The 9am train is to depart from Chiayi Railway Station bound for Shizilu Station (十字路), while the 10am train departing from Chiayi is to go all the
CROSS-BORDER CRIME: The suspects cannot be charged with cybercrime in Indonesia as their targets were in Malaysia, an Indonesian immigration director said Indonesian immigration authorities have detained 103 Taiwanese after a raid at a villa on Bali, officials said yesterday. They were accused of misusing their visas and residence permits, and are suspected of possible cybercrimes, Safar Muhammad Godam, director of immigration supervision and enforcement at the Indonesian Ministry of Law and Human Rights told reporters at a news conference. “The 103 foreign nationals stayed at the villa and conducted suspicious activities, which we suspect are activities related to cybercrime activities,” he said, presenting laptops and routers at the news conference. Godam said Indonesian authorities cannot charge them with conducting cybercrime. “During the inspection, we