The Social Movement to Legalize Same-sex Marriage in Taiwan: Mobilizing the Court, the Legislature, and the People

Speaker: Hsiao-wei Kuan, College of Law, National Taipei University, Taiwan 

Taiwan will mark the 5th anniversary of legalizing same-sex marriage in May 2024. The achievement of marriage equality in Taiwan unfolded through a complex political process involving judicial, legislative, and popular initiatives. In May 2017, Taiwan's Constitutional Court deemed the Civil Code's denial of equal marriage rights for same-sex couples unconstitutional. This landmark decision gave the legislature a two-year window to revise existing laws or create new ones to permit same-sex marriage. However, this progress faced setbacks when voters approved two anti-same-sex marriage initiatives at the end of 2018. In response, the legislature passed a new law that granted substantive marriage rights to same-sex couples without using the term "marriage" explicitly. This talk will explore how the movement for same-sex marriage leveraged the Constitutional Court, Parliament, and popular support to advance its cause amidst opposition.

Introduced by Yun-chien Chang, Jack G. Clarke Professor in East Asian Law, Cornell

A light lunch will be served. RSVP by August 30, 2024. The lecture venue is subject to change. Those who RSVP will automatically be notified.

Short Bio of the speaker:

Dr. Hsiaowei Kuan is a law professor at the College of Law, National Taipei University in Taiwan. She holds an LL.M. and an S.J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania School of Law. With a scholarly focus on the intricate intersections of gender and law, legal mobilization, and the vital domains of women's rights and LGBTI+ rights, her written contributions have significantly enriched these fields of study.

Co-sponsored by the Clarke Program in East Asian Law and Culture.