TAIPEI, Taiwan — More than 1,200 people attended a massive mock gay wedding banquet outside the Presidential Office in Taipei, Taiwan, over the weekend to promote the marriage equality bill due to be introduced for a parliamentary vote soon.
The supporters of the bill held a banquet and watched a video featuring local celebrities and politicians, stating their support of marriage equality, which was streamed on a large screen.
Live performances were also staged at an improvised hall, at the banquet which was organized by the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR).
The banquet was set ahead of Taiwan’s next session of parliament, set for mid-September, during which lawmakers are expected to debate the legalization of same-sex marriages and unions on the island.
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“We organized the event in the form of a wedding banquet in the hope that everyone regardless of his or her sexual orientation can have equal rights to get married and have families,” said TAPCPR spokesperson to Severia Lu.
TAPCPR intends to present draft amendments to the Civil Code to the lawmakers so that the bill can be proposed and reviewed.
The alliance said it spent three years working on the draft, which includes same-sex marriage, civil partnerships, a broader definition of family members and the right of all couples to adopt children.
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“Based on the result of this survey, the government should stop acting conservative and mistaking the opinions against same-sex marriage as representing most people,” stated TAPCPR Secretary-General Chien Chih-Chieh.
Meanwhile a confederation of religious groups held a media conference to defend “traditional family values”.
They called upon lawmakers to proceed cautiously, claiming that marriage equality may lead to the “dissolution of the family” in Taiwan.
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