Beijing, May 29: The government of China has on Wednesday signaled it would not try to follow an example set by Taiwan on same-sex marriage after viewing activists hailing the first legal unions in Asia as a social revolution for the region.
According to Reuters news reports, Taiwan’s parliament has passed a bill last week that endorsed same-sex marriages. Over 360 same-sex couples on Friday married after several years of debates over same-sex marriage and marriage equality that has divided the democratic and the self-ruled island.
China, which sees Taiwan as its own sacred territory, has a growing gay scene in many major cities, but however, there has been a little sign the ruling Communist Party will green signal the same-sex marriage by legalizing it, despite activists long pushing for it.
While addressing a daily media briefing, spokesperson for the Chinese policy-making Taiwan affairs office An Fengshan stated they had “noted reports on the island” over the same-sex marriage.
Without further elaborating, he added, “The mainland has a marriage system of one man, one woman.”
Moreover, there are no bills in China against same-sex marriage and despite thriving awareness of LGBTQ issue, Beijing has been the target of censors in recent months.
Also read: Taiwan becomes 1st Asian-nation to legalize same-sex marriage
Taiwan’s Parliament on Friday legalized same-sex marriage following a vote, a landmark decision that makes the self-ruled island the first in Asia to pass gay marriage legislation.
In 2017, the island’s constitutional court ruled that same-sex couples had the right to legally marry, reports the BBC. Parliament was given a two-year deadline and was required to pass the changes by May 24.
The change comes despite public backlash to the 2017 court ruling, which pressured the government into holding a referendum.