Weeks after a historic ruling in Taiwan allowing a married gay man to adopt the non-biological child of his husband, LGBTQ activists in the country called on the government to extend adoption equality to all same-sex couples.
The family court’s historic Dec. 25 ruling, made public last week, found that it was in the best interest of Wang Chen-wei’s adopted child, nicknamed “Joujou,” for his husband Chen Chun-ju to become a legal guardian, as well.
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It marked the first time in Taiwan that a same-sex couple has been allowed to adopt a child that didn’t have a biological relationship with either person.
The couple fought for Chen to be able to adopt Joujou for over two years.
“Finally, the issue of Joujou’s parental rights has come to an end,” Wang said in a Facebook post, according to the Taipei Times.
However, Wang did note that the court’s decision does not set a general precedent for all same-sex couples in the country.
“We will continue to fight. The key is having the law revised,” Wang wrote. “If our family wants to adopt another child, will we have to go through the same process again and gamble on which judicial affairs officer we get? Or will the law have been amended so it won’t be so hard for everybody?”
Same-sex marriage is legal in Taiwan, but LGBTQ couples still face other restrictions that opposite-sex couples do not.
The Act for Implementation of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748, which legalized same-sex marriage in the country, does carve out rights for adoption if that child has a biological relation to one of the parents. But the law makes no mention of cases where the child has no biological ties to either partner.
“It’s really absurd that same-sex people can adopt a child when they are single but they can’t after they get married,” Wang told the Agence France-Presse.
According to the Taipei Times, the court decided that the law doesn’t explicitly “prohibit the adoption of adopted children,” and that it would be “inappropriate to give a negative or discriminatory interpretation of the provision.”
Jennifer Lu, the executive director for the Taiwan Equality Campaign, said the ruling was “a ray of hope,” but added that Taiwan’s courts are inconsistent on the matter.
“We hope the rulings serve as a reminder to government officials and lawmakers that the current unfair legal conditions need to be changed,” she said.
According to Lu, the group has received over 500 requests from same-sex families interested in adopting non-biological children.
In recent weeks there has been a major development in LGBTQ equality in Taiwan.
A court ruling enabled a married gay man to adopt the non-biological child of his husband.
But where to next on Taiwan's road to LGBTQ equality?
LGBTQ people are calling on the government of Taiwan to extend adoption equality to all same-sex couples.
Due to the circumstances of the recent adoption case - involving a child referred to as Joujou - it does not appear that the court's decision has set any kind of precedent that couple be applied to other same-sex adoption cases.
It seems clear that legislative action is required to ensure that the complexity and legal barriers to same-sex adoption can be addressed, and avoid inconsistent outcomes through the court system.
What's life like for LGBTQ people in Taiwan?
In terms of LGBTQ equality, Taiwan has been seen as one of the most progressive countries in Asia. Taiwan Pride attracts huge crowds, and a 2017 ruling by the country’s Constitutional Court set Taiwan firmly on the path towards marriage equality.
However, in a referendum held in November 2018, aspirations for marriage equality took a backward step, the most voters supporting a definition of marriage that restricts it to being a union between a man and a woman.
In its 2017 ruling, the Constitutional Court gave Taiwan’s parliament a maximum of two years to amend or enact laws so that same-sex marriage was legally recognised. According to the court ruling, if the Parliament failed to do so by 24 May 2019, same-sex marriage will automatically become legal.
The good news is that Taiwan’s parliament bit the bullet and enacted the legislation required to make marriage equality the law of the land.
Taiwan Pride
Taiwan’s LGBTQ Pride celebrations are held on the last Saturday every October. It’s believed to be the largest gay pride event in East Asia.
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