DPP Unveils Its New Gay Marriage Law Draft

Taiwan's ruling party unveiled its latest attempt to create Asia's first gay marriage law on Thursday, a bill offering same sex-couples "permanent unions" as well as limited adoption rights, despite stiff opposition from conservatives.

In November, conservatives won a referendum against revising the island's Civil Code to allow gay marriage, in a blow to President Tsai Ing-wen's party and a stark illustration of the social divide caused by the issue.

The referendum came after Taiwan's Constitutional Court voted to legalise gay marriage in 2017 – the first place in Asia to do so – arguing that denying same-sex couples marriage rights was unconstitutional.

The court ordered the government to amend the law by May 24, 2019 but did not specify how it wanted gay marriage to be brought in.

The bill published on Thursday by the cabinet is the Tsai administration's attempt to square that circle – a new law that meets the court's demands while trying to respect the referendum result by not altering the Civil Code which currently defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

The draft law released by the justice ministry proposes allowing "two persons of the same sex to create a permanent union of intimate and exclusive nature for the committed purpose of managing a life together to realise the equal protection of the freedom of marriage".

Gay couples will be allowed to adopt the biological children of their partner while both parties are financially responsible for each other and are entitled to inheritance rights.

The law is set to take effect on May 24 but needs to pass parliament, where the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) holds a majority. (AFP)