Taiwan Gay Marriage Ruling Widens Political Divide With China
- Landmark change faces higher hurdles under one-party rule
- ‘It’s the system. This is a problem stemming from the system’
Same-sex activists hug outside the parliament in Taipei on May 24, as they celebrate the landmark decision paving the way for the island to become the first place in Asia to legalize gay marriage.
Photographer: Sam Yeh/AFP via Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Taiwan’s historic court ruling this week did more than make it the first place in Asia to let same-sex couples wed: It also widened the political gap with China.
The decision by Taiwan’s constitutional court Wednesday to legalize gay marriage in two years -- if lawmakers don’t do so first -- underscored the differences between the democratic island and one-party China, which wants to unify the two sides. The Communist Party controls all branches of government and faces little public pressure to allow same-sex marriage.