Can Taiwan’s democracy withstand attempts to sabotage Asia’s first same-sex marriage law?
The News Lens
Date: 2019/05/24
By: Cat Thomas
Photo Credit: 中央社CNA
As Taiwan passed a law on marriage equality last Friday congratulations flooded in from around the world on social media and Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs promptly released a short film celebrating the passing of the law, framing it as another reason that Taiwan deserves a place on the global stage. However, despite the passage of the law there is still much work to be done in order to protect LGBT rights and, given the reaction of the KMT and anti-marriage equality groups, there is cause for concern that attempts to repeal the law might lie ahead, and that the issue might remain high on the agenda in the January 2020 presidential elections – a move that has the potential to damage Taiwan’s international reputation.
MOFA Facebook (https://bit.ly/2HzJ92O ) released a short celebrating legalization of #MarriageEquality in #Taiwan & success in promoting @GlobalGoalsUN #SDG10: Reduce inequality within & among countries. Watch & see how #LoveWins.
With calls by DPP heavyweights in the immediate lead-up to Friday’s vote to resist pressure from anti-equality groups and to ‘stand on the right side of history’ the DPP came together to land firmly on the side of placing human rights over fears of a backlash in the January elections. The new law, while perhaps best being described as imperfect, did take into consideration the results of the referendums (which despite the claims to the contrary of the anti-equality side, fell under article 30.2 of the referendum law which mandates further deliberation at the Legislative Yuan level, as opposed to 30.1 the results of which are binding) and therefore the DPP cannot fairly be accused of ignoring the referendum results. While it might be argued that the path to the passing of the law was mismanaged, the law that passed balanced the fine line between respecting the higher authority of the Council of Grand Justices’ (constitutional court) and attempting to find a compromise took the referendum results into account. [FULL STORY]