Taiwan will now recognize same-sex marriages of Taiwanese-Chinese couples

Taiwan officials have announced same-sex marriages between citizens of Taiwan and China will now be recognized in the breakaway republic.

Taiwan was the first Asian country to recognize same-sex marriages in 2019.

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“Legally, we have finally returned same-sex couples to their children.”

The move means that cross-strait same-sex couples can get married and their unions will be recognized in Taiwan. But like most things in the fraught relationship between the two countries, it’s complicated.

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Like their cross-strait straight peers, gay couples will have to get married in a third country that recognizes both China and Taiwan and where there’s also marriage equality. Once back in the island nation, they’ll then be able to legally register their marriage.

But in addition to relevant documentation like a marriage certificate, the couple will undergo an extensive interview process at their point of entry into the country.

Liang Wen-chieh, the deputy head of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council, said the tough standards for cross-strait couples are in place “to prevent cross-border fake marriages and avoid problems of national security and social order.”

“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,” he said, according to AFP.

After the interview, “the couple can proceed with marriage registration at a household registration office,” he added.

Despite the expansion of equal marriage rights, Chinese spouses in same-sex couples will have difficulty obtaining official Taiwan identity documents.

Chinese nationals have long had to relinquish their “household registration” in China in order to obtain permanent residency in Taiwan. But China doesn’t recognize same-sex marriages, so they’re unlikely to approve a partner’s deregistration.

Without that, the Chinese partner can’t obtain a Taiwanese ID, let alone one that indicates they’re married — at least for now.

The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, along with other equality organizations, said in a group statement that the changes for cross-strait couples were “a long-awaited, difficult but navigable path home.”

They also remarked that the requirement to get married abroad meant that gay couples  “still have higher economic and class barriers to marriage.”

Taiwan recognized same-sex marriage in 2019 when the country’s high court ruled that the definition of marriage between a man and a woman was unconstitutional.

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