Taiwan to pass law to legalise same-sex marriage

Taiwan may become the first Asian country to legalise same-sex marriage. By: Roshni Kapur Taiwan has recently announced that bills to legalise same-sex marriages are moving through its parliamentary system. Legislators in Taiwan are working on three bills where one of the bills may be passed as a law in early 2017. Incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen, the first female head of state who took office in May, said that she is in support of same-sex marriage. Her Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is largely in favour of same-sex marriages. Yu Mei-nu, an MP from DPP said the move may be a progressive step forward for marriage equality and human rights in Asia. "If Taiwan can get this passed…it will give other Asian countries a model," she was quoted in an online article on ABC. Taiwan would be the first country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage if the bill gets passed. It will join its Western counterparts such as the US, Canada and Ireland that have legalised same-sex marriages in the last 15 years,  according to the Washington, D.C.-based LGBT rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. "It's a big step forward for the history of human rights," Yu Mei-nu, a legislator from the DPP who is advocating for one of the bills was quoted in an online article on The Sydney Morning herald. "If Taiwan can get this passed ... it will give other Asian countries a model." Some Taiwanese cities such as Kaohsiung, are already symbolically recognising same-sex marriages. Kaohsiung took an unprecedented move in May by registering same-sex couples. The capital, Taipei, made a similar move shortly after.   In November, Kaohsiung took another step forward by handing out same-sex “partnership cards” to homosexual couples. The deputy director of the Kaohsiung civil affairs bureau, Chen Shu-fang said the distribution of cards is intended to help couples communicate with their partners during emergencies. The municipal government of Taipei has recently said that a similar move will be taken. Taiwan, reputed for its relative acceptance of homosexuals, has considered legalising same-sex marriages in retrospect.  A same-sex marriage bill was handed by Hsiao Bi-khim, a lawmaker from the DPP in 2005. However the bill failed to pass through as a law. In 2013, another bill managed to pave its way to the committee review stage but was not accepted as a law either. According to Hsiao the situation is different now. “We have a much better chance this time around,” she was quoted in an online article on The New York Times. .   Civil society groups have argued that there is an increasing support for same-sex marriages among the youth. According to the Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy group, approximately 80% of youth between the ages of 20 and 29 are in favour of same-sex marriage. Another survey commissioned by Taiwan’s United Daily News in 2012 revealed that while 55% of the population is in favour of same-sex marriage, 37% oppose it.