Taiwan announces it will recognize homosexual ‘marriages’ involving Chinese nationals

(LifeSiteNews) — Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has declared that same-sex Taiwanese-Chinese “couples” can legally register their “marriages” in the country, an unprecedented recognition of such cross-strait unions. The term “cross-strait” refers to the political relations between China and Taiwan.

For some time now, Taiwan has been the battleground between pro-family champions and proponents of the LGBT agenda, being the first place in Asia to recognize same-sex “marriages” in 2019 following a ruling by the Constitutional Court in 2017.

“From now on, same-sex couples [sic] can now be subject to the regulations of heterosexual couples,” declared Liang Wen-chieh, the spokesman for Taiwan’s MAC, on September 19.

Cross-strait homosexual “couples” would first have to be legally wedded in one of the 35 countries that acknowledge such “marriages.” Once they have filed their certificate and other documents, “relevant agencies will conduct interviews with the couple,” UCA News reported.

“Only after passing the interview on the border [at the airport and ports] can they enter the country to register their marriages. This is our current principle for cross-strait marriages,” Liang added.

At the moment, there are about 35 countries that recognize homosexual “marriages,” based on the Taiwanese Ministry of the Interior’s (MOI) Department of Household Registration website, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia.

Following the recent declaration, “the government upholds the principle of treating same-sex marriage [sic] and heterosexual marriage equally,” Liang claimed.

Regarding a Chinese homosexual partner’s ability to get a Taiwanese ID, Liang said that the outcome would hinge on China’s attitudes toward same-sex “marriage,” which is presently not recognized in the mainland.

“Our current regulation is that if we recognize your marriage, you can apply for residency (in Taiwan), and after completing the process, you can apply for permanent residency,” Liang said.

Nonetheless, at the final stage of the procedure to obtain Taiwanese IDs, homosexual Chinese “spouses” must cancel their household registration in China, the Taiwanese spokesman reiterated.

On August 8, the Taipei High Administrative Court decreed that a cross-strait same-sex couple “married” in the U.S. should be treated like a heterosexual married couple, including being granted the ability to apply for residency in Taiwan, Liang stated.

“After discussions among relevant government agencies, we have decided to respect the ruling of the administrative court,” he added.

In 2018, the people of Taiwan voted against recognizing same-sex “marriages” in a spate of referendums, but ultimately saw the practice legalized anyway.

Regardless of the civil laws of nations, the Catholic Church does not and cannot recognize homosexual “marriage,” as marriage is instituted by God as being between one man and one woman. The Church also unchangeably condemns all homosexual acts as gravely sinful and opposed to both divine law and natural law.