By TAPCPR | Project Contributor
On May 24, 2019, Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage. However, restrictions initially excluded certain transnational same-sex couples from marriage rights. Over the past five years, the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) has worked persistently through strategic litigation, press conferences, and petitions to secure this right for all citizens in Taiwan, allowing them to marry partners from any country worldwide.
On February 14, 2022, TAPCPR and gender rights organizations accompanied nearly 50 transnational same-sex couples to the Executive Yuan to once again demand the prompt submission of the amendment draft to the “Act Governing the Choice of Law in Civil Matters Involving Foreign Elements”.
In these five years, we initiated 18 strategic lawsuits, secured nearly a hundred media interviews, and held more than 30 press conferences. These efforts eventually led the Taiwanese government to amend its interpretation of relevant laws, thereby extending the rights of marriage to hundreds of transnational same-sex couples.
On July 21, 2022, the Taipei High Administrative Court ruled in favor of the Taiwan-Japan Transnational same-sex couple, Ah Shu, in their marriage registration case, with a “complete victory” for the plaintiffs.
Despite this progress, our advocacy must continue. Due to complex and often tense relations between Taiwan and China, the Taiwan government currently only recognizes marriages that are legally registered outside of Taiwan. For heterosexual couples, this requirement is not prohibitive, as they can marry in China and subsequently follow procedures to return to Taiwan. However, China does not recognize same-sex marriage, which means same-sex couples must travel to a third country to marry before following the same procedural steps in Taiwan.
This policy presents substantial challenges for same-sex couples facing economic limitations, those in certain professions (such as government employees or teachers), and those residing in less accessible or rural areas. As a result, TAPCPR will continue to advocate through strategic litigation and social outreach to ensure equal access to marriage for cross-strait same-sex couples from Taiwan and China.
Additionally, while Taiwan permits foreign nationals to enter into heterosexual marriages within the country, it only allows same-sex couples from countries where same-sex marriage is legally recognized to register their marriage in Taiwan. This policy has caused significant separation issues for many transnational same-sex couples who come to Taiwan to study or work and are unable to legally live together with their partners.
These remaining issues are areas where we will continue to focus our strategic litigation and social advocacy efforts, as we seek a more inclusive and equitable framework for all couples in Taiwan.
Related news Link:
1Taiwan-Singapore couple win right to register same-sex marriage
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4357335
2) Taiwanese-Japanese gay couple to appeal against rejection of their marriage
https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/4453000
3) 5 years of same-sex marriage in Taiwan
4) Denied the right to marry being Chinese and Gay
5) Ryan and Righ want to get married in Taiwan-They can’t because of China’s same-sex marriage ban
https://www.theguardian.com/world/article/2024/aug/28/taiwan-china-same-sex-gay-marriage-rules
Links:
By Annie Huang | Project Consultant
By Chih-Chieh Chien | Secretary General
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