Kathmandu (Pahichan) October 25 – People\u2019s human rights should not hinge on a popular vote. But that\u2019s exactly what is happening in Taiwan, and the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people are at risk.<\/p>\n
Ironically, the latest threat stems from a huge victory for LGBT people in Taiwan. In May 2017,\u00a0Taiwan\u2019s Constitutional Court<\/a>\u00a0declared as unconstitutional the definition of marriage as being \u201cbetween a man and a woman.\u201d The court gave parliament two years to amend existing laws or pass new legislation to include same-sex marriage.<\/p>\n But in an attempt to circumvent the ruling, the group Alliance for Next Generation\u2019s Happiness collected sufficient signatures to trigger a\u00a0referendum on whether to allow same-sex marriage<\/a>. Fundamental human rights are at stake, and the public rhetoric has been corrosive. \u201cThe collapse of the family system will deal a huge blow to society,\u201d said a spokesperson for the alliance. Other groups have gone further by including two additional provisions in the referendum: a separate legal mechanism for same-sex couples to register their relationships; and a proposal to roll back LGBT-inclusive portions of Taiwan’s Gender Equity Education Act, which would undermine protections for vulnerable youth disproportionately affected by bullying.<\/p>\n Taiwan\u2019s referendum has become an international proxy battle for the politics of intolerance. \u00a0US-based groups that failed to defeat marriage equality in the United States, including the National Organization for Marriage, are\u00a0pouring resources<\/a>\u00a0into the anti-equality campaign in Taiwan, using familiar tactics that exploit negative stereotypes and provoke fear.<\/p>\n