Home

The bill was passed by 66 to 27 votes

Taiwan has become the first in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage

The BBC reports that Taiwan’s parliament has voted in favour of legalising same-sex marriage.

In 2017, Taiwan’s Constitutional Court ruled that restricting marriage to be exclusively between a man and a woman was unconstitutional. The court gave parliament two years to amend the law.

On Friday, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan passed a bill allowing same-sex couples to legally marry – a first for Asia. The bill was passed by 66 to 27 votes.

Hundreds gathered outside the parliament building in Taipei to celebrate the historic moment.

“Today the result was the best we got for this stage,” said Wu Tzu-an, a 33-year-old gay artist from Taipei. “It’s also a sign to show that Taiwan was different from China. Personally I don’t have plans to get married, but I think it’s a sign for equality.”

“The fight for equality does not stop here. We will continue to fight against discrimination, bullying and defend gender equality education”, Jennifer Lu, chief co-ordinator of rights group Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan said.

“For me the outcome today is not 100 percent perfect, but it’s still pretty good for the gay community as it provides legal definition,” said gay pastor Elias Tseng.

Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen tweeted, “we took a big step towards true equality, and made Taiwan a better country.”