Focus Taiwan
Date: 2015/09/20
By: Christie Chen
Taipei, Sept. 20 (CNA) Several pro-gay groups in Taiwan on Sunday “declared war”
Hsu Hsiu-wen (許秀雯), head of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights. (CNA file photo)
against what they said were homophobic religious groups that were attempting to gain seats in the Legislature next year to prevent the passage of a same-sex marriage bill.
The newly established Faith and Hope League is one such group, said Hsu Hsiu-wen (許秀雯), head of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, at a press conference that was held under the theme “Declaring All-Out War Against Homophobic Religious Forces.”
She said the Faith and Hope League, which was established on Sept. 6 by former Legislator Joanna Lei (雷倩) and several Christian pastors, is actually a political party with an agenda to block a proposed amendment to the Civil Code that aims to legalize same-sex marriage.
The amendment, more commonly known as the “marriage equality bill,” cleared its first reading in the Legislative Yuan in 2013 and was reviewed for the first time in the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee last December. Since then, it has been shelved, largely due to opposition from religious groups. [FULL STORY]
