Ahead of the May 24th deadline set by the Council of Grand Justices in its original ruling in May 2017 that gay marriage in Taiwan needed to be legalized by, concerns are on the rise regarding the three gay marriage bills currently under discussion in the legislature...
Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je revealed his opposition to same-sex marriage during a speech in Boston last week, triggering a heated discussion on Taiwanese social media...
Taiwan's Executive Yuan has proposed a draft for same-sex marriage legislation earlier this month. This draft proposes to legalize same-sex marriage, but under a different framework of law than the ones currently in effect for straight couples. The bill has currently passed its second reading, though splits have emerged between parties regarding whether to advance the current bill or amend the bill further...
The Executive Yuan has finally released its draft bill on legalization for same-sex unions. Yet the draft bill does not allow gay couples the same rights that heterosexual couples currently enjoy in many crucial aspects. What will this mean for efforts to realize marriage equality in Taiwan?...
Political contestation regarding gay marriage continues in Taiwan, with pro-marriage equality groups and anti-gay groups still contesting the issue. The legal terrain has become further complicated since late November...
On November 24, five of the national referendum results show overwhelming opposition against the legalization of same-sex marriage and a gender equality education in grade school that would include LGBTQ issues. While there are many questions that remain to be answered through a more detailed analysis of the voting data, we are here writing as activists to reflect on the movement and offering some observations and directions on how we may want to move forward from here...
There would seem to be no greater indicator of progressive civil society’s defeats in 2018 local elections more than its losses across the board in terms of the referendums it pushed for. However, the situation seems to set to get bleaker in the near future. Conservative groups have now realized that referendums may be one way for them to force their political agendas through...
With a defeat for gay marriage on the 2018 referendum, what comes next for efforts to realize marriage equality? Legal and political challenges will present the next set of issues to be faced and the Christian right has clearly been emboldened by its victory...
The results of referendum voting will no doubt come as a great shock to progressive Taiwanese civil society with, quite literally, all of the referendum proposals they championed being voted down. On the other hand, all of the referendums they opposed passed. However, not all of these achieved the necessary 25% of voter participation needed to be legally binding...
Referendum reform has historically been pushed for by progressive civil society groups in Taiwan, as a means to resolve longstanding issues blocked by the KMT and other conservative forces. Progressive civil society groups were finally victorious in amending the Referendum Act last year, lowering the benchmarks needed to hold a referendum in Taiwan. But what if the results of referendum voting tomorrow indicate that, ironically enough, conservatives have managed to hijack the referendum and to use it against progressive civil society?...
