Fridae

More than 1,000 same-sex couples have wed in Taiwan in the month since it became the first in Asia for same-sex marriage. Of the 1,173 couples to tie the knot, 790 were female and 383 were male, according to the Ministry of the Interior. More than 500 couples wed on 24 May, the history-making day on which same-sex unions became possible.

After court rulings, referendums, and drama in parliament, Taiwan on May 17th enacted a bill allowing same-sex couples to marry. However, the bill does not afford full marriage equality in all aspects. For example, same-sex couples may only adopt a child if it is the biological child of one of the couple – and so far, no couples are reported to have applied for adoption. The bill also limits transnational marriages: for a foreign national to marry in Taiwan, same-sex marriage must be legal in their own country – and since 24 May, 28 transnational same-sex marriages have taken place.

Unfortunately, two of these same-sex married couples are reported to have divorced, with one couple citing ‘family pressures as the reason, as they did not obtain the prior consent of their parents.

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