Taiwan Will Become First Country In Asia To Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

The decision is binding, so a ruling in Chi's favour would pave the way for same-sex unions to be legalised.

Earlier today, Taiwan's Constitutional Court ruled that the current civil code restricting marriage between people of the same sex was in violation of "two articles of the constitution safeguarding human dignity and equality under the law".

"We feel that this is a huge success for the LGBT and marriage equality movement in Taiwan", said Wayne Lin, an activist who runs an LGBT hotline on the island. "This is obviously a gross legislative flaw", the court said.

"What we're asking for is the equality to marry and the assurance of rights, not some other laws specifically made for same-sex couples", she said.

It gave Parliament two years to amend existing laws or pass new ones.

The bill was drafted by Yu Mei-nu from Democratic Progressive Party who says that support from Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen could be crucial in passing the law.

Despite backlash to the movement from conservatives, an estimated 250,000 people took to the streets of capital city Taipei in December previous year to campaign for the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

Announcing the result of a two-month-long constitutional review on Wednesday afternoon, the panel of 14 judges ordered the legislature to either amend the Civil Code or introduce new provisions to recognise same-sex marriage within two years.

If the justices rule in favour of same-sex marriage, Taiwan would be the first Asian country to legalise it.

Taiwanese lawmakers completed the first reading of a same-sex marriage bill in late 2016, but the issue now is being put on the backburner in the current parliamentary session due to pressure from conservative groups.

The city government presented the petition due to growing requests for gay marriages, local media reported.

Wednesday's landmark decision came as the LGBT community faces increasing persecution in the region.

Despite the spread of same-sex marriage in a few regions since 2001, LGBTQ couples had been allowed to marry in only 22 of the world's almost 200 countries.

Despite the spread of same-sex marriage in a few regions since 2001, gay and lesbian couples had been allowed to marry in only 22 of the world's almost 200 countries.