The government should pass regulations to allow foreign same-sex partners of Taiwanese nationals who they have married abroad to apply for marriage-based residency as soon as possible, New Power Party caucus convener Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) said yesterday.
The Council of Grand Justices in May last year ruled that a provision in the Civil Code that says a marriage can only be between a man and a woman was unconstitutional and demanded that the legislature legalize same-sex marriage within two years, while Premier William Lai (賴清德) last month promised to enact regulations to allow foreign nationals married to Taiwanese of the same sex to apply for marriage-based residency.
To apply for marriage-based residency, foreign same-sex spouses would only need to notarize their marriage certificate at an embassy or representative office abroad and register their “partnership” at a household registration office in Taiwan, Lai said.
However, Hsu said that despite the ruling and Lai’s promise, authorities have rejected applications for marriage-based residency by several foreign same-sex spouses.
Lan Hsin-wei (藍信偉), a Taiwanese married to a Spanish man, said that his spouse’s work-based residency would expire next month, but the Taiwanese government has refused to grant him marriage-based residency, citing current regulations.
Without residency, it is difficult to find a job, and his spouse cannot even open a bank account or get a Costco membership, Lan said.
Lu Hsin-shan (呂幸珊), who married her South African wife in 2015, said the government has repeatedly refused to recognize their marriage.
In 2016, Lu attempted to move back to Taiwan with her wife, but her application to register the marriage in Taiwan was rejected, she said.
After the grand justices’ ruling last year, she applied again, only to be rejected a second time, she said.
“I want my wife to have a complete life in Taiwan, rather than living like a second-class citizen,” she said.
“If the government will not even grant foreign same-sex spouses residency, would they allow them to register as a married couple?” Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights secretary-general Chien Chih-chieh (簡至潔) said.
She criticized the government’s legislative inefficiency and said it has been hiding information about the progress “as if it were a national security issue.”
“The government should be more responsible. Many people have moved back to Taiwan because it promised to legalize same-sex marriage, but now they might have to move back again. Does the government enjoy fooling people?” Hsu asked.
Lai’s promise is nothing but empty words, he said, adding that the government would lose people’s trust if it continues to delay the legislation.
SCENARIOS: A potential conflict with Beijing would not be similar to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, and China would target energy and food supplies, a researcher said China is likely to continue using economic and cyberoperations against Taiwan to force it to capitulate without resorting to a military attack, Fox News reported yesterday, citing the outcome of a tabletop exercise. Washington-based think tank the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) earlier this month held a tabletop exercise in Taipei focusing on Beijing’s use of economic and cybercoercion against Taiwan. The FDD mentioned an “anaconda strategy,” in which Beijing would likely use cyberwarfare and disinformation campaigns followed by a blockade or other measures to strangulate Taiwan, rather than attempting an invasion, the report said. A large-scale cyberattack would be
HSINCHU CASES: Five people among 35 who were reported being sick were still in hospital after eating at a vendor in a market in Jhubei, the local health agency said Thirty-five people have sought medical treatment for acute symptoms after allegedly eating banh mi (Vietnamese sandwiches) from a vendor in Jhubei City (竹北), the Hsinchu County Public Health Bureau said yesterday. The bureau said that since Saturday, it has received several reports of suspected food poisoning from hospitals. The vendor has been ordered to temporarily suspend its business, it said, adding that tests were being conducted to determine whether the people had food poisoning, with results expected in about two weeks. A preliminary investigation showed that the people who sought treatment had recently eaten banh mi at a vendor at a retail market
GOOD MODEL: Speaking at his book launch, Law said that Taiwan is the most democratic Chinese-speaking country, which is why Hong Kongers relocated here China has suffocated Hong Kong’s civil society and its next target could be Taiwan, Nathan Law (羅冠聰), cofounder of the disbanded pro-democracy Hong Kong political party Demosisto, said in Taipei yesterday. Law made the remarks at a launch in Taipei for his book When the Wind Blows — the Struggles for Freedom of Hong Kong (時代推著我們前行:羅冠聰的香港備忘錄). Law has been living in the UK since he fled Hong Kong in 2020, and the book is about his fighting for the cause of freedom in the area. He was granted political asylum in 2021. “Fleeing is a long and distressing process, but it also
IMITATING OTHERS? Tsai Ing-wen’s office said the former president rents a commercial unit for her personal office and had never used election funds to purchase real estate Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday confirmed that he used about NT$43 million (US$1.35 million) from his presidential election subsidy to purchase an office unit near the Legislative Yuan in May. Ko made the remarks after Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) earlier in the day told a news conference that she received a tip-off that the TPP chairman had purchased a 48.76 ping (161.2m2) office unit at Jinan Building (濟南大樓), a commercial building in Taipei’s Zhongzheng District (中正). Lin said that Ko purchased the unit on May 10, paying about NT$43 million in cash,