Homosexuals will now be officially listed and protected under the Domestic Violence Prevention Law (
Two lawmakers cited the movie Brokeback Mountain in arguing for the change.
The existing law defines "domestic" as "husband and wife relations, spouses and ex-spouses, parents, family members, or blood and non-blood relatives."
Legislators from the Judiciary Committee questioned that definition, asking whether homosexuals were included in those categories and protected by the law.
Minister of the Interior Lee Yi-yang (
According to the Civic Law (
Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Kuo Lin-Yung (郭林勇) said that homosexuals had long been neglected in a society where heterosexual marriages were dominant.
Although gay marriages are not yet legal in the country, more attention should be paid to gay rights, Kuo said.
"They [homosexuals] have been derided, persecuted and constrained in the past, but now they have begun to speak out, allowing their problems to surface and be known," he said. "Therefore, they must now be equally protected by the law."
The amended law should explain clearly that homosexual couples are included under the category of "family members," so that social workers, police and other authorities would understand, Kuo added.
He said gay relationships were often more intense and gay individuals may easily become victims of domestic violence. Without protection from the law, many end up committing suicide because they have no way to seek help, he added.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) added that the concept of "family" traditionally referred to heterosexual couples and that the decision made at the review session was a breakthrough for gay rights.
Huang said the new amendments should add that members of families could be composed of any sex.
Both Kuo and Huang said the award-winning movie Brokeback Mountain had positively influenced the public to be more aware of homosexual issues and problems.
The review session also made progress toward canceling a handling fee for protection orders. A NT$1000 (US$31) handling fee has posed a problem for many victims of abuse, who could not afford to apply for protection.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its