{"id":215756,"date":"2019-05-24T15:43:22","date_gmt":"2019-05-24T19:43:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=215756"},"modified":"2019-05-24T15:43:22","modified_gmt":"2019-05-24T19:43:22","slug":"same-sex-couples-start-registering-marriages-in-taiwan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/05\/24\/same-sex-couples-start-registering-marriages-in-taiwan\/","title":{"rendered":"Same sex couples start registering marriages in Taiwan"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A Taipei resident who identified himself only by a nickname said he and his partner feel lucky that they are able to tell everyone that they have gotten married. (Pixabay Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TAIPEI, Taiwan \u2014 Hundreds of same-sex couples in Taiwan rushed to get married Friday, the first day a landmark decision to legalize same-sex marriage took effect.<\/p>\n

Taiwan became the first place in Asia to allow same-sex marriage last week in a legislative vote on a cause that the island’s LGBT rights activists have championed for two decades.<\/p>\n

A household registration office in central Taipei was packed as couples seized the earliest opportunity to tie the knot.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe legalization of marriage is only the first step,\u201d said a 48-year-old novelist who writes under the pen name Chen Hsue.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the future, through this legalization, I hope LGBT people could be accepted as ordinary people by Taiwanese society,\u201d said Chen, who has lived with her partner for more than 10 years.<\/p>\n

A Taipei resident who identified himself only by a nickname said he and his partner feel lucky that they are able to tell everyone that they have gotten married.<\/p>\n

Several couples requested that their real names not be made public because they fear the stigma that persists around being gay in Taiwan.<\/p>\n

Kristin Huan, a YouTube blogger, said she and her partner Amber can strengthen other people’s faith and hope by sharing their story online.<\/p>\n

\u201cComing out of the closet is a very difficult process for every gay person,\u201d Huan said.<\/p>\n

Taiwan’s Ministry of the Interior said about 300 same-sex couples were expected to register Friday.<\/p>\n

Taiwan split from mainland China amid civil war in 1949, though China’s ruling Communist Party claims the island as part of its own territory.<\/p>\n

Same-sex marriage is not legal in mainland China, and while LGBT rights advocates have made progress over the years in raising awareness and promoting tolerance, depictions of same-sex relationships are still regularly censored on Chinese TV and social media.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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