Same-sex marriage in Taiwan

Map of Taiwanese subdivisions that had opened registration for same-sex couples before 24 May 2019

  Registration open to same-sex couples

  No registration

In May 2015, the special municipality of Kaohsiung announced a plan to allow same-sex couples to mark their partners in civil documents for reference purposes, although it would not be applicable to the healthcare sector. This policy of "partnership registrations" (Chinese: 同性伴侶註記),[lower-alpha 2] went into force on May 20. Taiwan LGBT Rights Advocacy, an NGO, criticized the plan as merely a measure to "make fun of" the community without having any substantive effect.[15][16][17]

In June 2015, Taipei became the second special municipality in Taiwan to open registration for same-sex couples.[18]

In July 2015, Taichung announced it would be joining Taipei and Kaohsiung in recognizing same-sex partnerships. This made Taichung the third special municipality to do so. Same-sex couples began to register their partnerships on 1 October 2015.[19][20]

In October 2015, same-sex couples were included in Taoyuan's mass wedding ceremony despite same-sex marriage not being legal in Taiwan. This was the first time same-sex couples were able to participate in this twice-yearly event.[21] Taipei followed suit one day later.[22] On 28 October 2015, the Taichung City Government announced that same-sex couples would be permitted to participate in the following year's mass wedding ceremony.[23]

In December 2015, the city governments of Taipei and Kaohsiung announced an agreement to share their same-sex partnership registries with each other effective on 1 January 2016, allowing for partnerships registered in one special municipality to be recognized in the other.[24] This marked the first time that same-sex partnerships had been recognized outside of single-municipality boundaries.

Activists protested on 18 December 2015 inside the Tainan City Council to lobby for a similar registry in Tainan.[25] On 27 January 2016, Mayor William Lai announced that same-sex couples would be allowed to officially register their partnership in the city.[26][27] Same-sex couples were able to begin registering on 1 February 2016.[28]

On 27 January 2016, New Taipei announced it would open registration for same-sex couples.[29] Registration began on 1 February 2016.

On 23 February 2016, Mayor Twu Shiing-jer announced that Chiayi City would be opening registration for same-sex couples, effective on 1 March 2016. Chiayi City became the first of the three provincial cities of Taiwan to recognize same-sex couples. However, there are more restrictions: both partners must be residents of the city and they will not be able to list their relationships on their household certificates.[30]

On 28 January 2016, the Mayor of Taoyuan declared that his special municipality is open to the possibility of a registry.[31] On 7 March 2016, Tang Hui-chen, director of the Department of Civil Affairs at the Taoyuan City Government, said that based on gender equality, basic human rights and respect for same-sex relationships, the Government has decided to allow same-sex couples to register as same-sex partners to protect their rights.[32] The registration began on 14 March 2016,[28] making Taoyuan the sixth as well as the last special municipality in Taiwan to officially recognize same-sex couples.

On 18 March 2016, the Department of Civil Affairs at the Changhua County Government declared that based on respect and tolerance for same-sex couples, Changhua County had decided to open registration for same-sex couples.[33] Couples who wish to register must be at least twenty years old and one partner must be from the county. The first couple registered the day the registration came into effect, on 1 April 2016.[34][35]

Since 1 April 2016, same-sex couples living in Hsinchu County can go to any government office to register their relationship.[36] Hsinchu County along with Changhua County became on the same day the first two of the thirteen counties of Taiwan to officially register same-sex couples.

On 19 May 2016, the Yilan County Government decided to allow same-sex couples to register with any of the twelve household registration offices in the county, making Yilan County the third county to do so. Registration began the following day, on 20 May 2016.[37]

On 20 October 2016, five days before a same-sex marriage bill was introduced in the Legislative Yuan, the Chiayi County Government opened registration for same-sex couples in Chiayi County, citing respect for diversity and equality.[38][39]

The Constitutional Court released its Interpretation No. 748 on 24 May 2017. The interpretation judged the government should take a motion to legalize same-sex marriage. On 26 May 2017, the Ministry of the Interior sent letters to all the local governments that had yet not opened registration for same-sex couples, asking them to do so. By 6 June, Hsinchu City, Kinmen County, Lienchiang County, Miaoli County, Nantou County and Pingtung County had announced their intention to comply, with household registration services to open later that month or early July.[40][41] Keelung City and other areas that recognize same-sex partnership registration on 3 July 2017 began accepting applications. [42] By 4 July, three same-sex couples had registered in Keelung.[43]

On 3 July 2017, the Ministry of the Interior had upgraded the nationwide household registration computer system to incorporate the information of same-sex partnership registration into personal profiles.[44] As of that day, same-sex couples can legally register their relationships, through special "same-sex partnership registrations" in 18 out of 22 major Taiwanese administrative divisions that account for 94 percent of the country's population. However, the rights afforded in these partnerships are very limited; there are as many as 498 exclusive rights related to marriage that include property rights, social welfare and medical care.[45]

Hualien County, Penghu County, Taitung County and Yunlin County have yet to open registration for same-sex couples. In September 2017, activists protested in Hualien and Taitung counties for the opening of registration services for same-sex couples.[52]

Same-sex marriage was legalized in Taiwan on May 24, 2019. As the formal marriage is available for Taiwanese citizens who intend to marry another Taiwanese citizen or a foreign person from a country or territory where same-sex marriage is legal, same-sex partnership registration are no longer available for these couples. However, couples who have registered can choose to remain in partnership or convert to a marriage.[53]

On May 25, 2020, the day which marks the anniversary of legalizing same-sex marriage in Taiwan, the National Immigration Agency announced the opening of same-sex partnership registration for couples between two foreign citizens. [54]

In 2003, the Executive Yuan proposed legislation granting marriages to same-sex couples, but the bill was rejected in 2006 and was not passed into law because of majority opposition from legislators, which included both DPP and KMT members of the Legislative Yuan.

In August 2012, two women participated in what the media called Taiwan's first same-sex marriage ceremony.[55][56] Around the same time, President Ma Ying-jeou, Chairman of the governing Kuomintang (KMT), restated his respect for LGBT rights but said public support was needed before the government could approve a same-sex marriage law.[55][57]

The Ministry of Justice's Department of Legal Affairs commissioned a study on legal recognitions of same-sex unions in Canada, Germany and France in 2012, but after pressure from critics, commissioned a further study for 2013 on the state of same-sex relationships in Asian countries for comparison.[58]

In 2012, Su Tseng-chang, then-Chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), expressed support for same-sex marriage.[59] Despite some division within the party on the issue, DPP's victorious presidential candidate for the January 2016 election, Tsai Ing-wen, announced her support of same-sex marriage in November 2015. She is the first major party candidate to come out in support of same-sex marriage.[60]

One of four newly wedded couples at a public wedding at Taiwan Pride 2006

Buddhist same-sex marriage ceremony, 2012

In March 2012, a same-sex couple, Ching-Hsueh Chen (陳敬學) and Chih-Wei Kao (高治瑋), applied to the Taipei High Administrative Court to have their marriage recognized.[61] The first hearing took place on April 10, 2012. The couple was accompanied by their mothers and received the personal blessings from the judges for their love, although the judges said that wouldn't have any repercussions in their final ruling. The next hearing was set to take place a month later,[62] and the court was due to hand down a decision on December 20.[63] Instead, the court reneged on a ruling, opting to send the case to the Council of Grand Justices in the Judicial Yuan for a constitutional interpretation.[64] The case was then voluntarily withdrawn by the couple due to the hesitancy of the judiciary in taking on the case.

On 25 October 2013, a petition-initiated bill to revise the Civil Code to allow for same-sex couples to be eligible for marriage was introduced by 23 lawmakers from the DPP in the Legislative Yuan. It was immediately referred to the Yuan's Judicial Committee for review and possible first reading.[65]

On 22 December 2014, a proposed amendment to the Civil Code which would have legalized same-sex marriage was due to go under review by the Judiciary Committee. If the amendment had passed the committee stage it would have then been voted on at the plenary session of the Legislative Yuan in 2015. The amendment, called the marriage equality amendment, would have inserted neutral terms into the Civil Code replacing ones that implied heterosexual marriage, effectively legalizing same-sex marriage. It would have also allowed same-sex couples to adopt children. Yu Mei-nu, of the DPP, expressed support for the amendment as did more than 20 other DPP lawmakers as well as two from the Taiwan Solidarity Union and one each from the KMT and the People First Party.[66]

On 28 June 2015, a senior Ministry of Justice official stated same-sex marriage would remain illegal in Taiwan "for now". Deputy Minister of Justice Chen Ming-tang said "...in Taiwan, the issue of legalizing same-sex marriage remains extremely controversial...so we should not consider it for now". He added that while the Ministry of Justice opposed measures that would legalize same-sex marriages outright, it would support a more gradual approach, including offering better protection to same-sex couples under current laws, such as their rights to equal medical treatment and taxation.[67]

The Taiwanese election held in January 2016 resulted in a big win for the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP). The DPP chairperson Tsai Ing-wen won the presidential election, and the party took the parliamentary majority in the legislative election. The DPP is considered as a liberal party and majority of members support the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

On 23 February 2016, the Referendum Review Committee rejected a proposal put forward by the Faith and Hope League on the grounds that it failed to meet requirements. The proposal would have amended the Civil Code by stating that husband and wife relationships, consanguinity and the principles of human relations cannot be amended unless the public agrees via a referendum. Had it been approved, the legalization of same-sex marriage would have only been possible through a referendum. The committee voted 10-1 against the proposal. Chairman of the committee, Wang Kao-cheng, said it was rejected for two reasons: one, that the proposed was not a law, a legislative principle, important policy or constitutional amendment and therefore does not meet the requirement of the Referendum Act (Chinese: 公民投票法); and two, the proposal was about revising several provisions of the Civil Code, which does not meet the law's requirement that a referendum should be about a single issue.[68]

In July 2016, some Taiwanese legislators announced that they would introduce a same-sex marriage bill in Parliament by the end of 2016.[69][70] On 25 October 2016, at least a dozen legislators announced they had submitted a new amendment to the Civil Code which would legalize same-sex marriage in Taiwan. The proposed amendment was mostly supported by DPP legislators (whose party has a majority in the Legislative Yuan) though also by one legislator from the minority KMT, which was divided on the issue of same-sex marriage. In addition, a separate amendment legalizing same-sex marriage was also announced by the third-party New Power Party (NPP) caucus.[71] Yu Mei-nu of the DPP, who drafted the bill, expressed optimism the law could be introduced as early as the following year and that same-sex marriage could be legal in the country by the end of 2017.[72] On 29 October, President Tsai Ing-wen reaffirmed her support for same-sex marriage.[73][74] On 31 October 2016, the Executive Yuan Secretary-General, Chen Mei-ling, stated that the Executive supports same-sex marriage and that Premier Lin Chuan had urged the Ministry of Justice to take action on the issue.[75] Two draft amendments to Taiwan's Civil Code which would legalize both same-sex marriage and same-sex adoption passed their first reading in the Legislative Yuan on 8 November 2016. Both bills were immediately referred to the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee for discussion.[76]

The committee discussed the proposals on 17 November 2016 and was sharply divided. KMT and People First Party (PFP) representatives demanded a nationwide series of hearings be held over a number of months on the issue, while DPP legislators wanted the bills to be reviewed and immediately proceeded with. Following a number of physical scuffles between the MPs, the committee eventually agreed to hold two public hearings on the issue over the following two weeks; one hearing chaired by a KMT representative and another hearing chaired by a DPP representative. Several thousand opponents and supporters of same-sex marriage protested outside the Parliament on the Taipei streets whilst the committee was meeting.[77][78]

In early December 2016, "tens of thousands" of opponents of same-sex marriage demonstrated in the cities of Taipei, Taichung and Kaohsiung.[79] Less than a week later, close to 250,000 supporters of same-sex marriage gathered in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei, calling on the Taiwan Government to promptly legalize same-sex marriage.[80]

On 26 December 2016, the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee completed and passed its examination of the same-sex marriage bills. They then had to pass second and third readings before becoming law.[81][82] In October 2017, Taiwanese Premier William Lai said that the Government "is not giving up its effort to present a proposal before the end of the year to legalize same-sex marriage".[83] Eventually, the bills stalled and were not voted on.

In March 2017, the full panel of the Constitutional Court heard a case brought by gay rights activist Chi Chia-wei (whose attempt at registering a marriage with his partner in 2013 was rejected) and the Taipei City Government's Department of Civil Affairs. Taipei City, a special municipality, had originally referred the question of constitutionality to the Court for resolution in July 2015.[84] Both requested a constitutional interpretation on the issue and asked the court to focus on whether Taiwan's Civil Code in fact allows same-sex marriage and if not, whether that violates articles under the Constitution of the Republic of China pertaining to equality and the freedom to marry.[85][86][87]

Wikinews has related news: Taiwan's Constitutional Court legalizes gay marriage, gives legislators two years to amend marriage laws

The Court issued its ruling (Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748) on 24 May 2017, finding that the statutory ban on same-sex marriage in Taiwan's Civil Code was "in violation of both the people's freedom of marriage as protected by Article 22 and the people's right to equality as guaranteed by Article 7 of the Constitution."[5][88] Thus, the provisions defining marriage as between one man and one woman are unconstitutional,[7] and the Court requested that the Legislative Yuan amend existing laws or create new laws that are compliant with its ruling.[89] A time frame of two years was permitted for this to occur, after which "two persons of the same-sex ... may apply for marriage registration [and] shall be accorded the status of a legally recognized couple, and then enjoy the rights and bear the obligations arising on couples", according to the official press release that accompanied the verdict.[4][89]

As a result of the ruling, the Legislative Yuan could simply amend the existing marriage laws to include same-sex couples, thereby granting them the same rights enjoyed by married opposite-sex couples, or it could elect to pass a new law recognizing same-sex marriages or civil partnerships but giving said couples only some of the rights attributed to marriage.[90][91]

Following the Constitutional Court ruling, longtime LGBT rights activist Chi Chia-wei said that he was "leaping with joy like a bird."[92]

In response to the ruling, Cabinet spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung said the Executive Yuan would draft a proposal for revising the laws for the Legislative Yuan to consider, though had not yet decided whether to amend the Civil Code to include same-sex couples in the definition of marriage or create a separate and distinct law specifically addressing same-sex marriages.[93] Furthermore, Presidential Office Secretary-General Joseph Wu came out in favor of the ruling, claiming that it was binding on all Taiwanese nationals and all levels of government.[94]

By June 2017, the Executive had requested that government agencies relax restrictions on same-sex couples, to entitle them to rights accorded to married couples, such as signing medical consent forms, asking for family care leave and visiting imprisoned partners. The Secretary-General of the Executive, Chen Mei-ling, stated that the Cabinet had not decided on how to legalize same-sex marriages — by amending the Civil Code, by establishing a special section of the Civil Code or by creating a special law.[95] Government inaction over the following months resulted in implementation of the court's ruling being pushed back.[96][83]

In response to the ruling, 22 members of the Yunlin County Council (which has 43 members) filed a motion to impeach Hsu Tzong-li, the President of the Judicial Yuan, and the others judges who ruled in favor of same-sex marriage.[97][98] The Deputy Speaker, who signed the motion, claimed that "marriages between same-sex couples will have a huge impact on the society and social order" and that the ruling had caused "disappointment and concern".

In December 2017, the Taipei Administrative Court ruled that same-sex couples cannot marry until the Civil Code is amended or until 24 May 2019, when the Constitutional Court ruling goes into effect.[99]

In January 2018, opponents of same-sex marriage filed an appeal with the Supreme Administrative Court, seeking to annul the May 2017 decision. The appeal was quickly rejected by the Court. They filed a second appeal in February.[100]

Opponents of same-sex marriage campaigning in Taipei in 2017

In February 2018, a group opposed to same-sex marriage, the Alliance for Next Generation's Happiness, proposed holding a referendum on the issue of same-sex marriage, which required collecting about 280,000 signatures (1.5% of eligible voters) for the initiative to be presented to the voters.[101] Firstly, however, the group had to collect 1,879 valid signatures. This would then enable them to proceed with collecting the 280,000 signatures. By April 2018, the group had collected 3,100 signatures, and the Central Election Commission (CEC) validated the signatures later that month.[102][103]

The group wanted the three following questions to be presented to Taiwanese voters:[103]

• "Do you agree with using means other than the marriage regulations in the Civil Code to protect the rights of two people of the same gender to build a permanent life together?"
• "Do you agree that the marriage regulations in the Civil Code should define marriage as between a man and a woman?"
• "Do you agree that during the elementary and junior high school stage, the Ministry of Education and schools at all levels should not implement same-sex education as stipulated in the Gender Equity Education Act's implementation rules?"

LGBT activist Chi Chia-wei described the referendum proposal as "clearly a violation of the Constitution".[104]

In late August 2018, the Alliance for Next Generation's Happiness announced it had collected 678,000 signatures, which were then vetted and approved by the CEC.[105] In September, a pro-same sex marriage group announced it had collected more than 600,000 signatures to submit its own questions to a referendum, which were the following:[106]

• "Do you agree that the Civil Code marriage regulations should be used to guarantee the rights of same sex couples to get married?"
• "Do you agree that gender equity education as defined in 'the Gender Equity Education Act' should be taught at all stages of the national curriculum and that such education should cover courses on emotional education, sex education and gay and lesbian education?"

The referendum proposals were also approved by the CEC, and a public vote was held on 24 November 2018.[107][108] On 24 November, Taiwanese voters approved the three initiatives launched by the Alliance for Next Generation's Happiness and rejected the two pro-LGBT initiatives, by wide margins. The week before the vote, the Government announced that the Constitutional Court ruling would still go into effect in May 2019 regardless of the referendum results.[109][110][111] On 25 November 2018, the Executive Yuan's spokeswoman, Kolas Yotaka, stated that a draft of a special law to regulate same-sex marriages would be submitted to the Legislative Yuan within three months.[112][113][114] On 29 November, the Judicial Yuan Secretary-General stated that the referendum results cannot override the 2017 ruling.[115] The following day, the Premier confirmed that the Taiwan Government would prepare a special law on the matter.[116] On 5 December, the Minister of Justice, Tsai Ching-hsiang, said that a bill would be introduced before 1 March 2019.[117][118]

On 20 February 2019, the Executive Yuan published a draft bill, entitled Act for Implementation of J.Y. Interpretation No. 748, which allows two persons of the same sex to create a "permanent union of intimate and exclusive nature for the committed purpose of managing a life together to fulfill the equal protection of the freedom of marriage". It covers topics such as inheritance rights, medical rights, and adoption of the biological children of their partner. The draft bill also sets penalties for adultery and bigamy, similar to opposite-sex marriages. The bill does not amend the existing marriage laws in the Civil Code, but rather creates a separate law.[121][122][123] The bill was approved by the Executive Yuan on 21 February 2019 and then sent to the Legislative Yuan for passage, before taking effect on 24 May.[124][125][126][127] It was well received by LGBT groups,[128] but denounced by conservative organizations.[129] NPP legislator Freddy Lim presented his own bill to legalize same-sex marriage on 21 February.[130]

The Ministry of Justice has stated that the draft bill would be subject to further amendments, including on issues such as transnational marriages (which it does not address) and assisted reproduction. Another difference between same-sex and opposite-sex marriages would be the minimum required age. Currently, women can get married at 16 and men at 18. Under the proposed law, same-sex couples would be able to get married from the age of 18, but would require parental consent if under 20.[131]

On 5 March, the bill was moved to the second reading, in a 59-24 vote.[132][133]

On 14 March, the Legislative Yuan voted to send a draft bill that would limit the use of the words "marriage" and "spouse" to heterosexual couples to a second reading, where the bill would be reviewed together with same-sex marriage bill. The bill, entitled The Enforcement Act of Referendum No. 12, was proposed by KMT legislator Lai Shyh-bao. The bill was originally drafted by anti-LGBT campaigners and offered very limited rights. It would have allowed two adults of the same sex to register as one family. It also limited how much one partner could inherit from another. The NPP attempted to block the bill, but failed to secure enough votes.[134] Same-sex families and rights groups in Taiwan protested outside the Legislative Yuan and urged the opposition party lawmaker to withdraw what they called a "homophobic" draft bill.[135]

On May 17, 2019, the DPP-controlled Legislative Yuan approved the same-sex marriage bill.[11] This made Taiwan the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.[2] The KMT caucus opposed the bill but allowed a free vote; subsequently, seven KMT legislators broke with their caucus to vote in favor. Articles 1-4 of the bill, submitted by the Executive Yuan and approved by the Legislative Yuan, allow same-sex couples to form an "exclusive permanent union" and apply for a "marriage registration" with government agencies, and refers to the Judicial Yuan ruling to enforce its definition of marriage. Other articles in the bill also specify that married same-sex couples can jointly adopt a biological child of one of the spouses. All 27 articles of the bill were approved, mostly by the DPP and NPP caucuses. The bill was signed into law by President Tsai Ing-wen on 22 May, and took effect on 24 May 2019.[136][137][138]

According to the existing Act Governing the Choice of Law in Civil Matters Involving Foreign Elements (Chinese: 涉外民事法律適用法), Taiwanese citizens can only marry foreign same-sex spouses who are citizens of countries where same-sex marriage is legal.[139]

Two other bills were submitted by conservative lawmakers (from both KMT and DPP), who sought to refer to the partnerships as "same-sex family relationships" or "same-sex unions" rather than same-sex marriage.[140] These bills were not put to a vote.[141]

Over 40,000 people attended a rally organized by LGBT human rights organizations in front of the Legislative Yuan building in support of same-sex marriage during the third reading.

On October 30, 2020, at the Ministry of National Defense's annual mass wedding, 188 couples married, including two same-sex couples (two women who were military officers and each married a civilian woman).[142]

526 same-sex couples got married on 24 May 2019, the first day they were legally allowed to do so. 185 of them were male couples and 341 female couples.[144] New Taipei City registered the most marriages, with 117, following by Taipei with 95 and Kaohsiung with 72.[145]

By 23 June 2019, 1,173 same-sex couples had gotten married. 383 of them were male couples and 790 female couples. Two divorces took place.[146][147] New Taipei City registered 242 same-sex marriages, followed by Taipei (198), Kaohsiung (159), Taichung (141), Taoyuan (123), Tainan (89), Hsinchu County (28), Hualien County (27), Pingtung County (27), Hsinchu (25), Yilan County (20), Changhua County (19), Miaoli County (19), Keelung (15), Nantou County (13), Yunlin County (12), Chiayi County (9), Taitung County (6), Chiayi (3), Penghu County (3), Kinmen County (2) and none in Lienchiang County.[148]

In all of 2019, a total of 2,939 same-sex marriages occurred in Taiwan, 929 between male couples and 2,011 between lesbian couples.[149]

By 23 May 2020, almost one year after the legalization of same-sex marriage, a total of 4,021 gay couples had wed in Taiwan. The data released by the Ministry of the Interior showed that the majority of the marriages were between female couples, at 2,773 (69%), while 1,248 were between male couples. While the majority of same-sex marriages were between Taiwanese nationals, the number of transnational couples in which one spouse was a foreign national was 189, or 5 percent of the total. Among these transnational marriages, 80 people were from the United States, followed by Canada at 21 and Australia at 17.[150]

In the year of 2020, 2,387 recorded marriages were between same-sex couples, around 1.96% of all Taiwanese marriages, 674 same-sex marriages were between men and 1,713 between women.[151]

As of April 2016, more than 500 same-sex couples have registered their partnerships in the country.[156]

By the end of July 2016, there were 118 same-sex couples who had registered in Taoyuan. Of these, 93 were lesbian couples and 25 were gay male couples.[157]

272 same-sex couples had registered their partnerships in Taipei by the end of November 2016.[158] According to Victoria Hsu, president of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, almost 2,000 same-sex couples had registered in the whole country by December 2016.[82]

According to statistics published by the Ministry of the Interior, approximately 2,150 same-sex couples had registered by May 2017. Partnerships between women outnumbered those between men: 1,703 to 439.[159] By December 2018, this number had increased to 3,951 couples.[160]