台湾成为亚洲首个允许同性婚姻的地区

Taiwan is set to be the first place in Asia to allow gay marriage after a landmark ruling by the island’s constitutional court.

在台湾司法院做出具有里程碑意义的裁决后，台湾将成为亚洲首个允许同性婚姻的地区。

The court said existing laws stipulating wedlock must be between a man and a woman “was in violation of both the people’s freedom of marriage?.?.?.?and the people’s right to equality”.“

台湾司法院表示，现行法律中关于婚姻必须是一男一女结合的规定违反人民婚姻自由及人民平等权。

Sexual orientation is an immutable characteristic that is immutable to change,” said the court, also known as the Judicial Yuan. “The freedom of marriage for two persons of the same sex .?.?.?will constitute the collective basis, together with opposite-sex marriage, for a stable society.”

台湾司法院表示，性取向是不可改变的特征，同性婚姻自由与异性婚姻一样，将共同构成稳定社会的基础。

The ruling is a first for the world’s largest continent, where more conservative countries including China do not recognise same-sex unions and in some cases are taking a harder line against homosexuality. It also confirms Taiwan’s reputation as one of Asia’s most socially liberal societies.

该裁决在这个世界最大洲是首例，包括中国大陆在内的更保守的地区并不认可同性结合，有的还对同性恋采取了更强硬的态度。这也证实了台湾地区作为亚洲最自由社会之一的名声。

“This is definitely one of the most exciting moments in the history of LGBT rights in Taiwan,” said Leslie Li, a student at National Taiwan University in Taipei.

“这肯定是台湾LGBT（女同性恋、男同性恋、双性恋及跨性别者群体）权利历史上最激动人心的时刻之一，”位于台北的台湾大学(National Taiwan University)的学生Leslie Li表示。

China has claimed sovereignty over Tai-wan since 1949 when the Chinese Com-munist party defeated its rival the Nationalist party, or Kuomintang, in a civil war. The KMT lost last year’s Taiwan presidential election to the pro-independence Democratic Progressive party, which supported gay marriage.

自1949年中国共产党在内战中打败其对手国民党以来，中国大陆一直宣称对台湾地区拥有主权。去年，国民党在台湾总统大选中输给了支持独立的民进党。民进党支持同性婚姻。

Members of China’s LGBT community hailed the ruling. “It will form an important part of our strategy for the LGBT rights movement in China and be a good guide for Chinese law,” said Wei Xiaogang, executive director of Beijing Gender, a non-governmental organisation that lobbies for LGBT rights.

中国大陆LGBT群体为这项裁决欢呼。“这将构成大陆LGBT权利运动战略的重要部分，并很好地指引大陆法律，”为LGBT权利进行游说的非政府组织北京纪安德咨询中心(Beijing Gender)执行主任魏建刚表示。

“Mainland couples will go to Taiwan to get married,” Mr Wei predicted. “And Taiwanese LGBT people will be able to marry their mainland partners.”

“大陆的伴侣将前往台湾结婚，”魏建刚预计，“台湾LGBT群体将可以与他们的大陆伴侣结婚。”

The Chinese government in Beijing is suspicious of Taiwan’s president and DPP standard-bearer, Tsai Ing-wen, fearing her efforts to promote the isl-a-nd’s cultural distinctiveness are really aimed at advancing her party’s indepen-d-ence platform. Ms Tsai’s win in Janu-ary last year made her the first democratically elected female ruler of a Chinese society.

中国政府对台湾总统、民进党领导人蔡英文(Tsai Ing-wen)持怀疑态度，担心她推动台湾文化独特性的努力实际上是为了推进其政党的台独纲领。蔡英文在去年1月赢得台湾大选，使得她成为了中国社会中通过民主选举产生的首位女性统治者。

“Taiwan’s progress is rooted in its soc-ial system and tolerance,” said Shi Ful-ong, a lawyer who tried to help a Chinese gay couple register their marriage two years ago. The application was rejected.

“台湾的进步根源于它的社会制度和包容性，”两年前试图帮助大陆一对同性伴侣登记结婚的律师石伏龙表示。该申请被驳回。

“In China, we are only at the starting point when it come to legalising same-sex marriage,” Mr Shi added. “The government needs to consider social customs and public acceptance. I think it will take another 20 years.

石伏龙称：“在大陆，我们在同性婚姻合法化问题上才刚刚起步。政府需要考虑社会习俗和公众的接受程度。我认为这还需要20年的时间。”

”Gay marriage is also not recognised in the Chinese “special administrative reg-ions” of Hong Kong and Macau, where the Roman Catholic Church, which has no diplomatic ties with mainland China, remains a powerful institution.

中国香港和澳门特别行政区也不承认同性婚姻，那里的罗马天主教会（Roman Catholic Church，与中国内地没有外交关系）仍然是影响力强大的机构。

Xin Ying, director of the Beijing LGBT centre, said: “Taiwan’s move will propel LGBT movements across Asia.”

北京同志中心(Beijing LGBT Centre)主任辛莹（音译）表示，“台湾此举将推动整个亚洲的LGBT运动。”