Hundreds of gay couples get hitched in Taiwan in first for Asia

Hundreds of same-sex couples made history on Friday, becoming the first in Asia to legally get married as Taiwan’s new marriage equality law finally came into effect.

The first to tie the knot were Shane Lin (left) and Marc Yuan who shared a kiss before signing their marriage certificate outside of the registration office in Taipei.

They completed their registration at 8:37 am. As their witness, they chose veteran activist Chi Chia-wei.

In 1986, Chi became the first person in Taiwan to come out as gay on television. He was also one of the plaintiffs in the court case which eventually led to Taiwan legalizing same-sex marriages.

A total of 526 same-sex couples registered their marriage on Friday in Taiwan, including Victoria Hsu (left), and her wife Chih-chieh Chien.

Here are Hsu and Chien’s new identity cards which list each other as spouses.

In Kaohsiung, these couples took part in a group wedding event.

Meanwhile, in Taipei’s Xinyi District, 20 same-sex couples took part in a larger-scale group wedding ceremony named “The starting line of happiness.”

The couples walked down a rainbow flag while being cheered on by gay rights supporters and foreign dignitaries, and Taiwan's mascot bear Bravo.

Bravo is evidently a strong supporter of the new marriage equality law.

WATCH

 TRENDING NOW

JOIN THE COMMUNITY

Be a part of Shanghai's largest,
most vibrant network of foreigners & friends!
1. Add us on WeChat at helloshanghaiist
2. Text "Living in Shanghai"
3. Wait to be added to a WeChat group
4. Ask questions, seek recommendations
and connect with like-minded people.

BE SEEN BY SHANGHAIIST READERS

商务合作微信号 | theshanghaiist
[e-mail]