Fridae

Beijing (Bloomberg) - China's top legislative body has been advised to legalise same-sex marriage in the updated civil code, The Global Times reported on Friday (Dec 20).

Last month, the top court in Hong Kong ruled in favour of a same-sex couple suing the government for failing to recognise their marriage.

Gay advocacy groups say that results of an evaluation conducted on Taipei’s mayoral candidates show all three of them lack concrete policies on promoting gay rights.

The mayor of the South Korean capital Seoul has become the first mainstream Politian in the country to indorse marriage between same-sex couples.

The Australian Capital Territory has become the first jurisdiction in Australia to legalise same-sex marriage.

The Thai Ministry of Justice announced that it would work with the House of Representatives Committee on Laws, Justice and Human Rights to push draft legislation on civil unions for same-sex couples.

Just days from the federal elections on September 7, PM Kevin Rudd faced down a Christian pastor, who challenged him on his support for same-sex marriage on a TV talkshow, and argued that a literal interpretation of the Bible would also dictate support for slavery.

At last count, 14 countries have legalised same-sex marriage. In Asia, the issue is gaining steam in Vietnam and Thailand as its governments are considering legalising same-sex marriage and civil unions respectively. Is this a cause all gay people should get behind? Malaysian gay activist and co-founder of Seksualiti Merdeka Pang Khee Teik writes that while this right should be celebrated, it is not the most important right for LGBTs.

Jiyi Wu (吳芷儀) and Abbygail Wu (吳伊婷), who are both transgender women and describe themselves as a genderqueer couple, are fighting to have their marriage reinstated after the country’s Ministry of the Interior (MOI) earlier this year stripped the pair of their legally married status.

Australian former PM Kevin Rudd, who opposed a 2009 amendment (while he was PM) that would have paved the way for marriage equality, wrote on his blog yesterday that he now supports marriage equality for same-sex couples.