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Agence France-Presse

Taiwanese activists on Wednesday said a court decision allowing a married gay man to adopt his husband’s non-biological child offered hope but they called for the government to grant adoption equality to all same-sex couples.
Taiwan is at the vanguard of the burgeoning LGBT rights movement in Asia and became the first place in the region to legalise marriage equality in 2019.
But same-sex couples still face restrictions others do not.
They can only adopt a partner’s biological child and can only wed foreigners from countries where gay unions are also legal.
In the first favourable ruling of its kind in Taiwan, a family court in Kaohsiung city allowed a 34-year-old man to become the legal guardian of his spouse’s daughter, who his husband adopted before they married.
The ruling, made public on Tuesday by activist groups after it went into effect, only applies to the couple.


But activists hope the decision will encourage other courts and local officials to follow suit and add to pressure on Taiwan’s government to pass new legislation for full equality.
“I am happy that my spouse is also legally recognised as the father of our child … but I can’t feel all that happy without amending the law,” Wang Chen-wei, one of the claimants, said.
“It’s really absurd that same-sex people can adopt a child when they are single but they can’t after they get married,” the 38-year-old added.
Wang said he and his partner Chen Jun-ru would like to adopt a second child, but would have to go through the entire court process again.
Chinese LGBT group shuts down operations
Activist Jennifer Lu said the ruling offered “a ray of hope” but she noted that Taiwan’s courts were inconsistent on the matter – similar requests filed by two other same-sex couples were previously rejected.
“We hope the rulings serve as a reminder to government officials and lawmakers that the current unfair legal conditions need to be changed,” said Lu, executive director for rights group Taiwan Equality Campaign.
The group has received enquiries from over 500 same-sex families interested in adopting non-biological children, she said.


Taiwan is home to a thriving LGBT community: a record 200,000 people attended a pride march in Taipei in 2019 to celebrate the legalisation of same-sex marriage.
At least 6,000 same-sex couples have wed since then.
That law came about after Taiwan’s top court ruled that denying same-sex couples the right to marry was discriminatory and unconstitutional.
But same-sex marriage proved deeply divisive and the law contained restrictions that conservatives pushed for.
In May, a Taiwanese-Macanese gay couple won a similar court ruling that allowed them to wed even though Macau does not recognise gay marriage.
But like the adoption ruling, it only applies to their individual case.


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Taiwanese activists buoyed by court ruling allowing same-sex adoption

Taiwan is at the vanguard of the burgeoning LGBT rights movement in Asia. Photo: EPA-EFE

US consul general to Hong Kong and his husband announce birth of son

US consul general Hanscom Smith and his husband Ying-tsung Lu have announce the birth of a son, Julian Hanscom Lu Smith. Photo: Facebook

Hanscom Smith (right) and Ying-tsung Lu’s wedding in 2016, when the former was serving as consul general in Shanghai, sparked a conversation in China. Photo: Facebook

Tokyo to recognise same-sex partnerships, as activists in Japan push for greater LGBT rights

Activists with “unconstitutional decision” flag in front of the Sapporo District Court in Sappoto, Hokkaido prefecture, Japan in March, 2021. Photo: AFP

Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike has announced that the Japanese capital will recognise same-sex partnerships next year. Photo: Reuters

News

China

People & Culture

Gender & Diversity


Decision enables 34-year-old man to become legal guardian of his spouse’s daughter, who his husband adopted before they married
Taiwan became the first place in the region to legalise gay marriage in 2019 but same-sex couples still face restrictions others do not



Decision enables 34-year-old man to become legal guardian of his spouse’s daughter, who his husband adopted before they married.


LGBTQ