Radio Taiwan International 
Date: 23 May, 2019
By: John Van Trieste

President Tsai Ing-wen has signed a bill that will legalize same-sex marriage in Taiwan starting on Friday.

President Tsai Ing-wen has signed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage into law. The law is set to take effect Friday, allowing same-sex marriages to begin across Taiwan.

After signing the bill Wednesday evening, Tsai took to Facebook to appeal for mutual respect after a long battle over the issue of same-sex marriage.

Tsai said that the new law respects the results of a referendum held last year, in which voters rejected the option of legalizing same-sex marriage though an amendment to the Civil Code. She also said the law will not affect protections for religious beliefs.

Tsai said the law will only allow those who love another to join together and care for one another while also giving them basic legal rights and protections. She wrote that Taiwanese society has always been kind, tolerant, and unwilling to see any suffer for being different.    [FULL  STORY]