Working Towards Gender Equality:
Respecting Everyone's Rights to Love－Same-sex partners can now register their
marital status at Taichung City Council
By Yang Wen Lin Translated by S. Ying Photography by Luo You Chen
Photos provided by Civil Affairs Bureau, Taichung City Government and Information Bureau of Taichung City Government
The recent United States Supreme Court ruling that same-sex marriage is legal was a milestone for same-sex marriage rights and led supporters to respond on Facebook with rainbow profile photos celebrating this historic moment. Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung, who is also chairman of the Taichung City Council for the Promotion of Gender Equality, changed his Facebook profile photo similarly to show his support and underline his belief that everyone has the right to marry and have a family.
Since Oct. 1, 2015, Taichung has officially allowed same-sex partner relationship status in a major step towards gender equality and to promote gay and lesbian rights in the city.
To express support for gay rights, the Taichung City Government accepted a proposal from Taichung City Council for the Promotion of Gender Equality to allow residents to register for same-sex partner status as long as applying residents are over 20 years old and provide their national identity card and chop. All city council offices in Taichung can accept such applications and on Oct. 3, three different city council buildings in Fengyuan district and downtown Taichung put up rainbow flags to show support for a gay and lesbian parade.
A progressive city with a tolerant attitude
Taichung City Government Social Welfare Director Lue Jen-Der, who is also a member of the Taichung City Council for the Promotion of Gender Equality, noted that although there was a lot of pressure from various groups when this ruling was passed in Taichung, gender equality was an issue that Mayor Lin was striving to uphold as he believed that an important part of democracy in a progressive city was adopting a tolerant attitude for diversity.
Lue believes that true love is deserving of respect and that everyone has the right and freedom to pursue their own happiness. Thus, there should not be any discrimination against sexual orientation, and gender equality includes blessing and respecting others' rights to same-sex partnerships.
On Oct. 1, 26-year-old Cai Jia-Xun and his partner Jian-Zhong were the first couple to register their status as a same-sex partnership at the city council office. Cai realized his sexual orientation as early as the fifth grade and he met his partner three years ago, starting a serious dating relationship that included bringing each other to family gatherings. They are active promoters of gender equality and were determined to register their status at the city council as soon as they were aware of this new ruling.
Although they still can't officially register each other as partners on their ID cards, they understand that the process leading to the recent ruling was not easy and see it as a huge step. They simply hope that gays and lesbians can be recognized as normal people and that it is acceptable for them to live together as marriage partners. They believe that there does not need to be a fear of extinction of human beings due to same-sex marriages and urges that gender equality education begin early in the classrooms. Both Cai and Jian-de will cherish their gift of a rainbow flag at their ceremony and blessings given by Social Welfare Bureau Director Lue.
Almost 100 couples registered in first month
Taichung Civil Affairs Bureau director Tsai Shi-yin announced that in less than a month following the passage of the above ruling already close to 100 same-sex couples had registered. In Taichung, at least one partner needs to already be registered in the city's system before they can register their same-sex partnership here. Thus, it is different from Taipei or Kaohsiung, where partnerships are not nullified by moving.
The Taichung City Government has implemented its own system of electronic registration services that allows same-sex partners to register their status in a way that will enables them to take care of each other with medical services. The Health Bureau has notified over 68 health agencies so that partners can sign consent forms for medical operations and be classified as family members for hospital visitations. The city council will inquire whether partners would like to be issued with official documents and proof of identity when couples register.
In addition, the government is discussing procedures for allowing sex-sex couples to participate in the city's annual public wedding ceremonies and hopes to implement these as early as next year. Taichung government hopes that this will allow more people to understand pluralistic family structures and will encourage the public to recognize that true love among same-sex couples is deserving of support when they are ready to make their vows to each other.
"The beauty of the rainbow lies in its multiple colors; and the beauty of Taiwan lies in recognizing diversity", said Mayor Lin.
The mayor attended this year's LGBT Pride Awareness Week parade and, while waving a rainbow flag, stated that regardless of religious beliefs or sexual orientation, as long as couples were bound together by love, everyone had a right to have a family. The city's move towards recognizing the human rights of same-sex partnerships is a vital step forward for a progressive city and an important move towards building Taichung into an ideal city for living in as it treats diversity with kindness and respect.
|
December 2015
