Taiwan MOJ to hire academics to study same-sex couples' marriages

The Ministry of Justice (MOJ)will commission studies on same-sex marriages to help decide if such unions should be legalized and what the best way to do so would be, a ministry official said over the weekend. Chung Jui-lan (鍾瑞蘭), deputy director-general of the ministry’s Department of Legal Affairs, said the ministry was looking to enlist academics to study Asian countries’ practices in dealing with same-sex marriages, after having completed similar research on Germany, France and Canada in May. Chung said the ministry decided to study Asian countries’ attitudes to same-sex marriage after critics of such unions questioned why the ministry had left Asian countries out of its May study, given that they are more similar to Taiwan than Western nations. The study will also cover topics such as whether to revise the Civil Code if same-sex marriage if legalized or if passing a civil partnership act would be more viable than outright legalization, Chung said.