Sawt Falasteen - Taiwan recognises same-sex marriages between Chinese, Taiwanese

Taiwan has long been at the forefront of Asia's burgeoning LGBTQ rights movement, becoming in 2019 the first place in the region to legalise marriage equality.

But tensions between Taiwan and China -- which claims the self-ruled island as part of its territory and maintains daily military movements around it -- have meant cross-strait couples were not afforded the same right.

Meanwhile, heterosexual couples consisting of a Chinese and Taiwanese spouse face a more complicated process than other international couples, needing to first marry abroad and then pass an interview in Taiwan before registering their marriage.

But "from now on, same-sex couples can now be subject to the regulations of heterosexual couples," said Liang Wen-chieh, the spokesman for Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council -- which handles cross-strait affairs -- during a regular briefing.

They would first have to be legally wedded in one of the 35 countries that recognise marriage equality, and after submitting their marriage certificate and other documents, "relevant agencies will conduct interviews with the couple".

"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.

Liang added that the rules governing heterosexual cross-strait marriages have long been in place "to prevent cross-border fake marriages and avoid problems of national security and social order".

With Thursday's announcement, "the government upholds the principle of treating same-sex marriage and heterosexual marriage equally," he said.

There are currently around 360,000 Chinese spouses of Taiwanese citizens on the island.

They have to wait six years to apply for citizenship in Taiwan -- twice as long as those from other countries.

Separated from mainland China by a narrow 180-kilometre (110-mile) waterway, Taiwan has its own government, military and currency. Beijing has said it will never renounce the use of force to bring the democratic island under its control.

L.Hussein--SF-PST