Fridae

A same-sex union bill slammed as ‘discriminatory’ has advanced through Taiwan’s parliament. Taiwan’s lawmakers are now debating three bills that would legalise same-sex unions ahead of a court deadline later this month. One bill, which advanced to a second reading last week, would allow relatives to launch a court appeal if they believe the marriage is ‘fake’. Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled on May 24th ’17 that Taiwan’s Civil Code was unconstitutional for failing to recognise same-sex marriage.It also stipulated a two-year deadline for Taiwan’s parliament to enact a law in line with the ruling, after which same-sex marriage would become legal by default. But, a referendum in November of last year found the majority of Taiwan voters supported a separate law for same-sex marriage rather than changing the Civil Code. This was a major blow for the LGBT Community’s hopes to secure marriage equality. This draft bill was drafted by Cher Wang, the anti-LGBT chairwoman of smartphone maker HTC. Pro-LGBT legislator, Yu Mei-Nu, last week described the bill as ‘stark discrimination’ against same-sex couples and she questioned what right relatives or the courts had to scrutinise the sincerity of others’ marriage.

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