臺灣成爲亞洲首個允許同性婚姻的地區

Taiwan is set to be the first place in Asia to allow gay marriage after a landmark ruling by the island’s constitutional court.

在臺灣司法院做出具有里程碑意義的裁決後，臺灣將成爲亞洲首個允許同性婚姻的地區。

The court said existing laws stipulating wedlock must be between a man and a woman “was in violation of both the people’s freedom of marriage?.?.?.?and the people’s right to equality”.“

臺灣司法院表示，現行法律中關於婚姻必須是一男一女結合的規定違反人民婚姻自由及人民平等權。

Sexual orientation is an immutable characteristic that is immutable to change,” said the court, also known as the Judicial Yuan. “The freedom of marriage for two persons of the same sex .?.?.?will constitute the collective basis, together with opposite-sex marriage, for a stable society.”

臺灣司法院表示，性取向是不可改變的特徵，同性婚姻自由與異性婚姻一樣，將共同構成穩定社會的基礎。

The ruling is a first for the world’s largest continent, where more conservative countries including China do not recognise same-sex unions and in some cases are taking a harder line against homosexuality. It also confirms Taiwan’s reputation as one of Asia’s most socially liberal societies.

該裁決在這個世界最大洲是首例，包括中國大陸在內的更保守的地區並不認可同性結合，有的還對同性戀採取了更強硬的態度。這也證實了臺灣地區作爲亞洲最自由社會之一的名聲。

“This is definitely one of the most exciting moments in the history of LGBT rights in Taiwan,” said Leslie Li, a student at National Taiwan University in Taipei.

“這肯定是臺灣LGBT（女同性戀、男同性戀、雙性戀及跨性別者羣體）權利歷史上最激動人心的時刻之一，”位於臺北的臺灣大學(National Taiwan University)的學生Leslie Li表示。

China has claimed sovereignty over Tai-wan since 1949 when the Chinese Com-munist party defeated its rival the Nationalist party, or Kuomintang, in a civil war. The KMT lost last year’s Taiwan presidential election to the pro-independence Democratic Progressive party, which supported gay marriage.

自1949年中國共產黨在內戰中打敗其對手國民黨以來，中國大陸一直宣稱對臺灣地區擁有主權。去年，國民黨在臺灣總統大選中輸給了支持獨立的民進黨。民進黨支持同性婚姻。

Members of China’s LGBT community hailed the ruling. “It will form an important part of our strategy for the LGBT rights movement in China and be a good guide for Chinese law,” said Wei Xiaogang, executive director of Beijing Gender, a non-governmental organisation that lobbies for LGBT rights.

中國大陸LGBT羣體爲這項裁決歡呼。“這將構成大陸LGBT權利運動戰略的重要部分，並很好地指引大陸法律，”爲LGBT權利進行遊說的非政府組織北京紀安德諮詢中心(Beijing Gender)執行主任魏建剛表示。

“Mainland couples will go to Taiwan to get married,” Mr Wei predicted. “And Taiwanese LGBT people will be able to marry their mainland partners.”

“大陸的伴侶將前往臺灣結婚，”魏建剛預計，“臺灣LGBT羣體將可以與他們的大陸伴侶結婚。”

The Chinese government in Beijing is suspicious of Taiwan’s president and DPP standard-bearer, Tsai Ing-wen, fearing her efforts to promote the isl-a-nd’s cultural distinctiveness are really aimed at advancing her party’s indepen-d-ence platform. Ms Tsai’s win in Janu-ary last year made her the first democratically elected female ruler of a Chinese society.

中國政府對臺灣總統、民進黨領導人蔡英文(Tsai Ing-wen)持懷疑態度，擔心她推動臺灣文化獨特性的努力實際上是爲了推進其政黨的臺獨綱領。蔡英文在去年1月贏得臺灣大選，使得她成爲了中國社會中通過民主選舉產生的首位女性統治者。

“Taiwan’s progress is rooted in its soc-ial system and tolerance,” said Shi Ful-ong, a lawyer who tried to help a Chinese gay couple register their marriage two years ago. The application was rejected.

“臺灣的進步根源於它的社會制度和包容性，”兩年前試圖幫助大陸一對同性伴侶登記結婚的律師石伏龍表示。該申請被駁回。

“In China, we are only at the starting point when it come to legalising same-sex marriage,” Mr Shi added. “The government needs to consider social customs and public acceptance. I think it will take another 20 years.

石伏龍稱：“在大陸，我們在同性婚姻合法化問題上纔剛剛起步。政府需要考慮社會習俗和公衆的接受程度。我認爲這還需要20年的時間。”

”Gay marriage is also not recognised in the Chinese “special administrative reg-ions” of Hong Kong and Macau, where the Roman Catholic Church, which has no diplomatic ties with mainland China, remains a powerful institution.

中國香港和澳門特別行政區也不承認同性婚姻，那裏的羅馬天主教會（Roman Catholic Church，與中國內地沒有外交關係）仍然是影響力強大的機構。

Xin Ying, director of the Beijing LGBT centre, said: “Taiwan’s move will propel LGBT movements across Asia.”

北京同志中心(Beijing LGBT Centre)主任辛瑩（音譯）表示，“臺灣此舉將推動整個亞洲的LGBT運動。”