The Judicial Yuan yesterday approved draft revisions to a law that would grant recognition to all international same-sex marriages, except for those involving a partner from China, and said it would send them to the Legislative Yuan for review.
The changes would apply to Article 46 of the Act Governing the Choice of Law in Civil Matters Involving Foreign Elements (涉外民事法律適用法), which states that “the formation of a marriage is governed by the national law of each party.”
In practice, this has meant that same-sex couples involving a partner from a country in which same-sex marriage is not recognized are not allowed to marry in Taiwan, or have a marriage conducted in a third country legally recognized.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
The Judicial Yuan said in a news release that it had recommended changing the law to allow and recognize such marriages as long as one of the partners is Taiwanese.
It explained the decision by noting that same-sex marriage is legal in only 29 countries around the world.
Despite its recommendation, the Judicial Yuan said the changes would not apply to couples involving a partner from China, which is subject to separate laws governing Taiwan-China relations.
However, the new rules would apply to couples involving a partner from Hong Kong or Macau, which fall under another jurisdiction, the Judicial Yuan said.
The draft revisions are to be sent to the Executive Yuan before they are jointly submitted by the two government branches to the Legislative Yuan for its review.
The Council of Grand Justices on May 24, 2017, ruled that the nation’s Civil Code provisions that did not allow same-sex marriage were unconstitutional, giving the government two years to amend them.
In May 2019, the Legislative Yuan passed a marriage equality law extending to same-sex couples almost all the marriage rights available to heterosexual couples under the Civil Code.
The law took effect on May 24, 2019, making Taiwan the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
LIMITS: While China increases military pressure on Taiwan and expands its use of cognitive warfare, it is unwilling to target tech supply chains, the report said US and Taiwan military officials have warned that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could implement a blockade within “a matter of hours” and need only “minimal conversion time” prior to an attack on Taiwan, a report released on Tuesday by the US Senate’s China Economic and Security Review Commission said. “While there is no indication that China is planning an imminent attack, the United States and its allies and partners can no longer assume that a Taiwan contingency is a distant possibility for which they would have ample time to prepare,” it said. The commission made the comments in its annual
DETERMINATION: Beijing’s actions toward Tokyo have drawn international attention, but would likely bolster regional coordination and defense networks, the report said Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s administration is likely to prioritize security reforms and deterrence in the face of recent “hybrid” threats from China, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said. The bureau made the assessment in a written report to the Legislative Yuan ahead of an oral report and questions-and-answers session at the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The key points of Japan’s security reforms would be to reinforce security cooperation with the US, including enhancing defense deployment in the first island chain, pushing forward the integrated command and operations of the Japan Self-Defense Forces and US Forces Japan, as
INTERCEPTION: The 30km test ceiling shows that the CSIST is capable of producing missiles that could stop inbound missiles as they re-enter the atmosphere Recent missile tests by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) show that Taiwan’s missiles are capable of intercepting ballistic missiles as they re-enter the atmosphere and pose a significant deterrent to Chinese missile threats, former Hsiung Feng III missile development project chief engineer Chang Cheng (張誠) said yesterday. The military-affiliated institute has been conducting missile tests, believed to be related to Project Chiang Kung (強弓) at Pingtung County’s Jiupeng Military Base, with many tests deviating from past practices of setting restriction zones at “unlimited” and instead clearly stating a 30.48km range, Chang said. “Unlimited” restrictions zones for missile tests is
PUBLIC SAFETY: The nationwide distribution campaign aims to enhance society’s overall understanding of threats and bolster defense awareness, an official said The latest edition of the National Public Safety Guide is being mailed to all citizens starting today to foster public awareness of self-defense in the event of war or natural disasters, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. “The guides will be disseminated to the public to enhance society’s overall understanding of threats and bolster defense awareness, demonstrating the government’s emphasis on people’s safety and its determination to pursue self-defense,” All-out Defense Mobilization Agency Director Shen Wei-chih (沈威志) said at the ministry’s news conference. The nationwide distribution campaign was planned according to President Lai William’s (賴清德) Sept. 20 directive, he said, adding
RSS