>> Taiwan parliament debates gay marriage for the first time
Une proposition de loi sur le mariage préparée par le Parti démocrate-progressiste (DPP), dans l’opposition, et dont l’objectif est de légaliser les unions entre personnes de même sexe a été examiné en commission parlementaire hier.
Le texte, qui avait été introduit l’année dernière, était depuis resté en souffrance au niveau de la commission des Lois juridiques et organiques. Hier, la députée DPP Cheng Li-chiun [鄭麗君], l’une des rédactrices du projet d’amendement, a réitéré sa position en faveur du mariage pour tous.
« Personne ne mérite à sa naissance d’être privé de ses droits […] uniquement du fait de ses différences psychologiques ou biologiques », a-t-elle déclaré en faisant référence au fait qu’à Taiwan, comme dans beaucoup d’autres pays, seuls les mariages entre un homme et une femme sont reconnus.
Toutefois, la proposition de loi n’a pas encore atteint le stade de la lecture article par article, et déjà il suscite une forte opposition, notamment du ministère de la Justice qui pointe entre autres l’absence de consensus dans la société taiwanaise à ce sujet, la complexité des modifications à apporter au Code civil, les conséquences d’une reconnaissance légale des mariages homosexuels en matière d’héritage entre membres d’une même famille.
Le ministère de la Justice estime par ailleurs que, plutôt que de modifier le Code civil, il serait préférable d’apporter des modifications ponctuelles, par exemple à la réglementation fiscale, pour faciliter la vie des couples homosexuels.
Source : taiwaninfo.nat.gov.tw
>> Governing party vehemently opposes marriage equality and controls both the presidency and the legislature…
The judiciary committee of Taiwan’s legislature today (22 December) held a hearing on two same-sex marriage legislations proposed by members of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP).
This marked the first time a legislative debate on same-sex marriage was conducted in Taiwan, as the governing party, the Chinese Nationalist Party or Kuomintang (KMT) vehemently opposes marriage equality and blocked all efforts in the past.
In addition to marriage specifically, the bills also seek to make gender-specific provisions in the civil code on inheritance, marital property, parenthood, and adoption gender-neutral so as to afford same-sex couples equal rights as heterosexual couples.
At the hearing, Ministry of Justice (MOJ) administrative deputy minister Chen Ming-tang essentially reiterated the points raised in the written statement the ministry issued beforehand.
Although the MOJ has consistently opposed same-sex marriage in the past, even while under a DPP presidency, this was the first time the ministry under President Ma Ying-jeou, former KMT chair, systematically justified its disapproval of marriage equality. The MOJ cited the following main reasons for its position:
The public would not be able to accept gender-neutral terms because they differ from people’s historical conceptions of human relations.
One of the reasons for marriage is procreation, and since same-sex couples cannot procreate, allowing them to marry would impact the existing marital institution that places emphasis on blood relations.
If same-sex marriage were recognized, death of a spouse would lead to inheritance passing onto the surviving spouse and children, thus the surviving parents would be left with nothing.
There are too many laws and regulations that use the terms ‘father,’ ‘mother,’ ‘grandfather,’ and ‘grandmother,’ so amending them all to be consistent with the marriage equality bill would be too cumbersome.
The statement went on to discuss the opinions the MOJ gathered from four consultations on same-sex marriage it conducted in the past two years.
First, it argued that amending the civil code is not necessary to protect the rights of same-sex couples. It next raised the issue of the impact of same-sex marriage on children, citing safety concerns and arguing that children adopted by same-sex couples may suffer from psychological problems.
Finally, the MOJ stated that same-sex marriage should not be legalized without popular consensus, which includes the views of the religious community. As a cautionary example, it cited France as a country that legalized same-sex marriage despite considerable popular opposition, which purportedly resulted in social unrest.
The MOJ concluded the statement by asserting that it respects the choices of same-sex couples. It would be fascinating to see what the statement would have looked like if it did not respect same-sex couples!
Predictably, while DPP legislators easily eviscerated these puerile arguments, KMT members argued that same-sex marriage is against tradition and public consensus and would lead to lack of procreation and bestiality.
As this was the first hearing, no conclusions were reached. Unfortunately, however, as the KMT controls both the presidency and the legislature, the road to marriage equality in Taiwan will most likely be long and arduous.
