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18 Dec 2015

LGBT marriage hopes in Taiwan pinned to political change

Presidential elections next month are expected to bring a new political era, and with it greater LGBT equality

Tsai Ing-wen, leading presidential candidate and head of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) looks set to become Taiwan’s first female leader in elections next month.

Thai is well ahead in the polls and has openly expressed support for same-sex marriage. In October she posted a video on her Facebook page saying: "Everyone is equal before love."

Yet some LGBT activists worry that the DPP is merely making a nod to change in the hope of garnering votes and that the DPP may eventually temper its support for gay marriage because it risks alienating the party's more conservative supporters.

Green Party-Social Democratic Party Alliance, a new coalition, are putting their own candidates forward and pushing an agenda of LGBT equality.

Of the 16 candidates put forward by the Alliance five are openly gay and have made gay rights the centre of their platform.
"We need to have political figures who make it their priority in parliament to force the two parties to move forward," says one of the five, Victoria Hsu, 43, who also leads campaign group Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR).

Of the more than 500 legislative candidates across the parties, so far 84 have committed to supporting a marriage equality Bill in the new term if they are elected, Ms Hsu's campaign group also said.
In many ways Taiwan is leading way for LGBT equality in Asia. The country has one of the largest LGBT pride parades each year and support for same-sex marriage stands at 59 per cent, according to an online survey by the Ministry of Justice earlier this year.

However, the same-sex marriage bill introduced in 2013 failed to garner enough support from lawmakers to get passed its first reading.

A new bill will need to be introduced by whoever finds themselves in power in January.

Reader's Comments

1. 2015-12-18 20:12  
Be the first Taiwan, make history in Asia :-)
2. 2015-12-19 03:32  
Regardless of where you live on this planet of ours it would seem that the structure of politics (and politicians) is basically the same ... supposedly elected by the people, for the people.

Then along comes a topic that THEY (the Politicians) don't particularly care for, in this case one that their own Justice Department discovered 59% of the PEOPLE accept ... and THEY decide to reject it.

My goodness ... it just proves THEY are living in THEIR own little world collecting their pay and enjoying a comfortable lifestyle totally detached from the REAL reason they are there.

Perhaps the huge Gay Pride Parade should be dusted off and re-appear as a Gay Pride DEMONSTRATION to show these unthinking politicians just WHO their REAL BOSSES are !!!




but the POLITICIANS
3. 2015-12-19 07:29  
It's the activists I worry for. What will they end up doing ? Jobless. No hope. There's only one option :)

4. 2015-12-19 14:49  
Good news for the LGBT community in Taiwan, which will become stronger, more powerful and accepted with or without politicians. For your own (the editors/ publishers) sake in accuracy and accountability, could you please get her name right between "Tsai" and "Thai"?
5. 2015-12-20 04:59  
Accuracy????!! But then that would mean balance!!!!

Lol

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