A gay couple have got married in Taipei amid same-sex marriage disputes
A same-sex couple in Taipei married yesterday in the midst of turmoil over marriage equality in Taiwan.
Tsai Yi-chin (蔡意欽) and Yo-yo (佑佑) wed in the legally non-binding ceremony which was witnessed by the Pastor Silas Wong of the Presbyterian Church and a Tibetan monk called Karma Gyurme Rinpoche.
“This is the promise of love, a life-long companionship and the responsibility that comes with marriage,” they said.
Yo-yo is a Christian and the only child of a pastor who taught him that Christianity does not tolerate homosexuality.
Despite this factor, he still manages to maintain a good relationship with his family despite lacking support from a younger age.
Tsai, who follows Buddhism, believes his religion and sexuality can be separate.
“Becoming a Buddha has nothing to do with sexual preference, but rather with whether a person has persistence in doing things,” he quoted the Dalai Lama as saying.
The capital became the second City Council, after Kaohsiung, to allow gay couples to apply for partnership certificates.
The certificates build on a registered partnership scheme in the city which was announced in June 2015.
A draft regulation has been published by the government, and it could come into full effect by March.
It would outlaw the practice of attempting to change a person’s gender identity or sexual orientation.
The move comes as Taiwan’s Legislature passed a measure to legalise same-sex marriage through its Committee stage which activists hope will pave the way for same-sex marriage to become legal in the country.
Lawmakers in the country are hoping to push further on equality issues – with politicians from the governing Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) last month filing a bill that would legalise same-sex weddings.
