Activist groups are calling for amendments to Taiwan's gay marriage laws to allow equal access for all cross-national couples. Several groups rallied together on Tuesday to call attention to the fact that same-sex couples cannot marry in Taiwan if one of the partners is from a country where gay marriage is not legal.
Although Taiwan became the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage in May 2019, this restriction has still prevented many cross-national couples from marrying in Taiwan.
An advocacy group leader, Chien Chih-chieh, says the Taipei High Administrative Court has already ruled in favor of four cross-national same sex couples who were barred from marrying under Taiwan's current restrictions. But Chien says these decisions are still just made on a case-by-case basis, rather than revising the law for everyone.
Chien says she hopes that a new amendment will allow same-sex couples to marry in Taiwan, regardless of the partners' nationalities. Other advocates say marriage is a constitutional right that same-sex couples should not still have to fight for in court.