The first same-sex couples to get married in Asia tied the knot in Taiwan on Friday (24 May).
At least 289 same-sex couples were expected to marry at across the country.
Shane Lin and Marc Yuan and Chun-peng Chou and Meng-huan Lin were among the nation’s first to get married.
They signed marriage registration documents in the nation’s capital, Taipei.
LGBTI Taiwanese making history as first same-sex couples to wed in Asia (Photo: Rik Glauert)
Legendary LGBTI rights activist who bought the same-sex marriage case to court, witnessed the historic occasion.
He signed certificates with a pen gifted to him by President Tsai Ing-wen to mark the occasion.
Gay couple Shane and Marc with veteran LGBTI rights campaigner Chi Chia-wei (Photo: Rik Glauert)
Couples held up newly-issued identity cards with the names of their new spouses on them.
A happy couple in Taiwan (Photo: Provided)
Couples later gathered in a park in the nation’s capital for a ceremony attended by local politicians and foreign dignitaries.
Cynical Chick and LiYing Chien were one of the first to tie the knot at a Marriage Registration Office in Taipei.
Cynical Chick and LiYing Chien as they register their marriage in Taipei, Taiwan (Photo: Provided)
Cynical Chick and LiYing share their first kiss as wife and wife (Photo: Rik Glauert)
Cynical Chick, who is a well-known cartoonist, has no surviving family members. She relished the opportunity to start her own family.
Chun-Peng and Lin Meng-Huan got married on Friday. They have been together for eight years but decided to get married after a devastating referendum loss for LGBTI people last year.
Marc Yuan and Shane Lin met in college and have been together for 12 years.
Shane Lin and Marc Yuan share a kiss after getting married (Photo: Provided)
They got engaged at their favorite singers pop concert last year.
‘I feel very lucky that I can say this out loud to everyone: I am gay and I am getting married,’ Lin told reporters gathered at the marriage office.
Marc and Shane walk down the aisle after getting married (Photo: Provided)
‘I am extremely proud of my country Taiwan’ he said.
Amber and Huan have been together for three years. In 2017, they started a YouTube channel.
Famous YouTubers Amber and Huan were among the same-sex couples to wed on Friday (Photo: Provided)
They deem marriage as the legal recognition of an intimate relationship and the bond does not form or break up on a whim.
Renowned lesbian Youtubers Amber and Huan (Photo: Rik Glauert)
Novelist Chen Xue and her partner Antonia Chen, also completed the marriage registration procedure on Friday.
Xue and Antonia Chen share an embrace after getting married (Photo: Provided)
They first held a marriage ceremony ten years ago.
‘Marriage is a union between two lovers. It is a free, independent and voluntary choice’ Xue said.
‘Instead of being a binding institution, marriage is based on mutual consent and its beginning and conclusion cannot be forced’.
Ya-ting and Mei-yu were one of the first couples to register in Taipei (Photo: Provided)
Ya-Ting and Mei-Yu held a Buddhist wedding ceremony seven years ago. On Friday, their parents were there as witnesses of the official registration.
Taiwan’s parliament last week became the first in Asia to
The government bill, which largely avoids the term ‘marriage’, has been labeled a compromise by LGBTI rights campaigners.
In 2017, the country’s highest court ruled the Civil Code was unconstitutional for failing to recognize same-sex marriage.
A same-sex couple in Taiwan celebrate their marriage in the capital Taipei (Photo: Provided)
But, in a bitterly-fought referendum, most Taiwanese citizens opted for a separate marriage law rather than changing the civil code which would have brought genuine equality.
LGBTI rights campaigners accused conservative and Christian groups of running a well-funded campaign of hate and scare-mongering.
Taiwan’s parliament voted in favor of a government bill offering same-sex couples similar rights to opposite-sex couples after years of court rulings, referendums, and tussles in parliament.
The crucial 4th line of the bill passed with 93 lawmakers voting for the bill, 66 opposing, and 27 abstaining.
This same-sex couple was one of the first to get married in Asia (Photo: Provided)
Thousands of LGBTI rights supporters and cheered as the vote was announced.
In a last-minute effort to appease conservative lawmakers, Taiwan’s ruling party r
But, same-sex couples can still get register for marriage in the same way as other couples.
A same-sex couple just married in Taiwan (Photo:Provided)
Couples can only adopt children if the child is the biological child of one of the couple.
Taiwanese citizens can only marry people of the same-sex that come from a country (there are 26 of them) that has legalized same-sex marriage. They must first provide evidence of a marriage in that country.
Taiwan is the regional leader for LGBTI rights. Thailand’s ruling junta last year submitted a union bill to cabinet, affording limited rights to same-sex couples.
