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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Report to be submitted to legislature, not a law: Lin
Premier Lin Chuan talks to reporters at the Executive Yuan in Taipei yesterday. Photo: CNA
By Chen Wei-han / Staff reporter
The Cabinet has no plans to propose a special same-sex marriage law, Premier Lin Chuan （林全） said yesterday, after Minister of Justice Chiu Tai-san （邱太三） on Monday announced that a draft bill would be put forward by February.
The Ministry of Justice plans to submit to the Legislative Yuan a report on same-sex partnership issues, not a draft bill, Lin said at a news conference in Taipei.
At a legislative session on Monday, Chiu said the ministry would propose a special same-sex partnership law by February to be reviewed along with a set of amendments to the Civil Code aimed at legalizing same-sex marriage, which cleared committee review that day.
However, Executive Yuan spokesman Hsu Kuo-yung （徐國勇） yesterday said the drafting of a bill would require the approval of the Executive Yuan, but the Cabinet does not have such a plan.
Later yesterday, the premier said that what the ministry plans to submit is a report of outsourced research on same-sex partnerships, instead of a draft bill on same-sex marriage.
“My understanding is that the ministry is obliged to provide the Legislative Yuan with a research report, which was [outsourced] early on, but that does not mean the Executive Yuan will draft a special law according to the findings of the report,” Lin said.
The Cabinet has to respect public opinion regarding same-sex marriage, Lin said, calling on the public to exercise empathy to reach a balance between the different camps in the increasingly heated debate over the issue.
“If the Legislative Yuan makes a decision on the issue, it is the result of public debate, which the Executive Yuan has to respect,” he said.
At the request of the legislature, the ministry commissioned National Tsing Hua University to research same-sex marriage and partnership issues and propose suggestions for the ongoing debate centered around marriage equality.
A report is due in February.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
