TAIWAN: Taipei City Government To Ask Court To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

Asia One reports:

The Taipei City Government Department of Civil Affairs yesterday stated its decision to petition to the Constitutional Court to make a decision about whether the Constitution forbids the government from restricting marriage rights from same-sex couples and to seek a decision that would require the government to legalize same-sex marriage. Countries all over the world have started to legalize same-sex marriage, Civil Affairs officials said, citing a gradual change in values in the past years. However, when asked whether they supported the right of same-sex couples to marry during their confirmation hearings before the Legislative Yuan, four of the current grand justices of the Constitutional Court said they could not support such a right. In a democratic country, the guarantee of civil liberty is a major issue that governmental bodies must be aware of, but since the Constitutional Court has yet to hand down a decision regarding same-sex marriage, the Civil Affairs department has decided to appeal to the court. It is estimated that the documents supporting the appeal will be delivered to the Ministry of the Interior next week.

Taipei currently grants same-sex couples limited partnership rights. About 2.7 million live within the city limits of Taipei, with about 7.5 million in the metro area.

TAIWAN: Dashcam Captures Plane Crash

Via BBC News:

A plane carrying mostly Chinese tourists has crashed into a river in Taiwan, killing at least 25 people. Dramatic video footage emerged showing the TransAsia Airways plane clipping a bridge as it came down shortly after take-off from a Taipei airport. The plane, carrying 58 people, has broken up and the fuselage is lying half-submerged in the Keelung River. Rescue efforts are ongoing. At least 15 people have been pulled out alive, with 18 still missing. Television footage showed some passengers wading clear of the sunken wreckage and a toddler being pulled out alive by rescuers. The ATR-72 turbo-prop plane had just taken off from Taipei Songshan Airport and was heading to the Kinmen islands, just off the coast of the south-eastern Chinese city of Xiamen. It is the second TransAsia ATR-72 to crash in seven months, following an accident last July which killed 48 people and injured 15. The final communication from the pilots to air traffic control was "Mayday, mayday, engine flame out", according to a recording played on local media.

MANIF REDUX: Massive Crowd Rallies In Taipei Against Same-Sex Marriage

Waving signs and banners that were clearly lifted from France's vile Manif Pour Tous, tens of thousands marched in Taiwan's capital in protest of a proposed bill to legalize same-sex marriage.

From Focus Taiwan:

The demonstrators, many of whom were parents and children, crowded Ketagalan Boulevard in front of the Presidential Office, raising pink placards that read "Made by Daddy and Mommy," "Defend Marriage" and "Oppose Amendment to Civil Code Article 972," which states that an agreement to marry shall be made by the "male" and "female" parties in a relationship. The Coalition for the Happiness of Our Next Generation, one of the organizers of the event, argues that allowing same-sex couples to marry and adopt children will encourage "sexual liberation," undermine traditional family values and confuse gender roles for children. Any changes to the marriage system should be put to a national referendum, the coalition said. "God created human beings as male and female. Only the union of a man and a woman can create the next generation, and the ability to create offspring is an important function of a family," said 40-year-old Ann Huang, who joined the rally with her friends.

From the Taipei Times:

“God loves people, but He doesn’t love sinners,” demonstrator Hsu Chu-min said. “Homosexuals should abandon their sin. Homosexuality is against human nature.” A high-school student who wished to be known as Nelson took part in the rally in a Nazi uniform. “I am against homosexuality, and so were the Nazis; this is why I am wearing this uniform,” he said. “I don’t care if others criticize me, because those who criticize me will be condemned as well.” As many speakers at the rally accused gay rights activists of trying to push for sexual liberation, incest, group sex and bestiality through legalizing same-sex marriage and family diversity proposals, several gay rights advocacy groups tried to hold a press conference to clarify their stance. However, many activists were circled, pushed and driven away when they passed through the crowd of demonstrators.

American anti-gay sites, including NOM, are claiming today that the crowd numbered as many as 300,000. Homocon Robert Oscar Lopez is praising the protest on his blog, English Manif. The marriage bill passed its first reading before the national legislature in late October and is now before three committees for review. Recent polls show the Taiwanese public is strongly divided on the issue.