TAIPEI, Taiwan (ChurchMilitant.com) – Taiwan’s recent election of its first openly LGBTQ+ legislator is causing concern among pro-family conservatives.
Huang Jie (left) (Photo: Focus Taiwan/CNA)
Held on Jan. 13, the election saw Huang Jie, a 30-year-old Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member, winning a seat in Kaohsiung’s 6th District.
According to Taiwan’s Central Election Commission, Huang won 51% of the vote while her opponent, Kuomintang (KMT) City Councilor (or alderman) Chen Mei-ya received 42%.
Jie garnered recognition during her tenure as a city councilor through her opposition to the initiatives of the previous Kaohsiung mayor, Han Kuo-yu, from the KMT Party.
She became widely known for a video in which she expressed disapproval of Kuo-yu’s proposal to create a free economic zone. Jie told the public she was a lesbian in April 2023.
Surrogacy Laws & Same-Sex Couples
Days after Jie’s election, a heated debate emerged around the potential expansion of surrogacy laws in Taiwan. The country’s current surrogacy laws limit eligibility to heterosexual married couples where one partner is infertile or has a major hereditary disease.
Legislators agree on the need for change but differ on the details.
On Jan. 16, legislators and advocacy groups preparing for the nation’s first post-election legislative session voiced their opinions on the issue. The KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) legislators agree on the need for change but differ on the details.
KMT legislator Chen Ching-hui advocates for broadening access to include single women, lesbian couples and unmarried heterosexual couples first, followed by homosexual male couples.
The Download: Celebrity Speaks Fondly of Surrogacy
She points out many Taiwanese women have not used eggs frozen for in vitro fertilization because of laws requiring marriage to a man for their use.
Chen’s stance echoes that of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, which argues for prioritizing single women and lesbian couples.
Conservatives see Jie’s election … as a departure from Taiwan’s traditional family values.
Conversely, Li Hsuan-ping of the Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy Association argues that, nearly five years after the legalization of same-sex marriage, discussions on such topics should transcend sexuality.
TPP legislator Chen Chao-tzu, who insists surrogacy should be treated as a medical rather than a social issue, prioritizes heterosexual couples with medical barriers to pregnancy.
Pro-family conservatives see Jie’s election as a departure from Taiwan’s traditional family values. They believe the legal permission of surrogacy, coupled with ongoing debates about expanding such laws, poses a risk of further eroding the family to the detriment of the common good.
— Campaign 31877 —
Have a news tip? Submit news to our tip line.
