Taiwan: Thousands campaign for same-sex marriage outside parliament gates
A coalition of over 120 gay rights groups campaigned outside the Taiwanese parliament in Taipei on Sunday for the legalisation of same-sex marriage.
Organised by the Marriage Equality Revolution Front, the gathering drew an estimated 20,000 people outside the Legislative Yuan, although media reports have also put the number between 2,000 and 4,000.
As part of the demonstration, activists attached 112 padlocks with the names of each legislator to the parliament gates.
According to Taipei Times, they had sent keys for each padlock to a corresponding legislator last month, inviting them to unlock the padlocks at the rally.
21 legislators accepted their invitation, four of them from the Chinese Nationalist Party, 14 from the Democratic People’s Party (DPP), and two independents.
Hsiao-Fong, co-ordinator of the NTU Student Association Gender Studio, said: “The marriage equality bill is a key to real equality.
“We demand that all legislators, who have not expressed their opinions on the bill, should take over 50% of public opinion [for] marriage equality seriously and publicise their support accordingly. Otherwise, your silence will be equal to homophobia.”
The Bill, proposed by DPP lawmakers, has been stalled by the Parliament’s judiciary committee since October last year.
Last month, six same-sex couples in Taiwan had their marriages rejected after attempting to register en masse.
