Proposed amendments to the Civil Code that would lower the legal age of majority from 20 to 18, and set the minimum marriage age at 18 for men and women, on Wednesday passed a preliminary review by the Legislative Yuan’s Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee.
During the review, the Ministry of Justice said that there is a high degree of consensus locally and internationally for setting the age of majority at 18.
Young people become psychologically mature at a younger age, largely due to their exposure to technology and mass media, the ministry said.
Japan in 2018 lowered its age of majority from 20 to 18, the ministry said, adding that in Taiwan’s legal system, 18 is the minimum age of responsibility for criminal and administrative penalties.
The proposal was approved with cross-party support in the committee, although it must still pass second and third readings by the full legislature to become law.
At the hearing, lawmakers also advanced proposals to set the minimum engagement age at 17 and the minimum marriage age at 18, for men and women.
They also proposed to remove a clause that allows minors to marry with the consent of a legal guardian.
The existing law states that to be engaged, men must be 17 and women 15, while men must be 18 and women 16 to marry.
Amending the legal age of majority in the Civil Code would affect private rights and duties such as legal guardianship, inheritance and property ownership, but would not change the voting age, which is set at 20 in the Constitution.
In September, the Legislative Yuan set up an ad hoc Constitutional Amendment Committee, which is expected to review a proposal to lower the voting age to 18 during the current legislative session.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
FATALITIES: The storm claimed at least two lives — a female passenger in a truck that was struck by a falling tree and a man who was hit by a utility pole Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris yesterday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing winds of 184kph when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept across the nation. A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A early on Thursday. The second death was reported at 8pm in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man