Overseas Taiwanese support amendments to Civil Code 

For Immediate press notice                                      

Washington D C -  November 29th, 2016

Contact: June Lin 林倢  (614)961-2979

In the morning of Nov. 28th, nearly 20,000 Taiwanese gathered outside the Parliament of Taiwan, demanding Taiwanese government to legalize same-sex marriage by amending the Civil Code and refusing to settle for a "separate but equal" civil union law. Taiwan is on the edge of marriage equality and might become the first country to legalize same-sex marriage in Asia. (Find more information in NY times article: <Taiwan as a Same-Sex Marriage Pioneer>

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/25/opinion/taiwan-as-a-same-sex-marriage-pioneer.html )

To support the LGBTQ, activists and legislators have been fighting for the amendments to Article 972 of the Civil Code. In solidarity, we overseas Taiwanese establish the "Overseas Taiwanese support amendments to Civil Code" campaign.

在今年的11月27日,近兩萬名台灣人走上街頭,要求蔡政府與國會落實真正的婚姻平權,拒絕「隔離而不平等」的專法。這是台灣實現婚姻平權、成為亞洲第一個同志婚姻合法化的的最後一哩路,身在海外的台灣人為了聲援台灣正在為婚姻平權奮鬥的同志運動者與立法委員,自發性地發起【海外台灣人支持修正民法,力挺婚姻平權!Overseas Taiwanese support amendments to Civil Code and uphold marriage equality!】活動。

In less than 24 hours, local Taiwanese people in Washington DC, New York, Boston, North Carolina, New Jersey, Seattle, Florida, Vancouver, London, Manchester, Berlin, and Tokyo have organized local assemblies to support the cause while expecting more cities to join in the coming days and weeks. Starting this week, we will launch a partition campaign on Facebook under the same name where participants pledge support with selfies for the effort for marriage equality that is currently taking place in Taiwan. We want to convey a strong message to Tsai administration that the only way to true equality is through amendments to Civil Code, and that Taiwan can rise as the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage.

In less than 24 hours, local Taiwanese people in Washington DC, New York, Boston, North Carolina, New Jersey, Seattle, Florida, Vancouver, London, Manchester, Berlin, and Tokyo have organized local assemblies to support the cause while expecting more cities to join in the coming days and weeks. Starting this week, they will launch a partition campaign on Facebook by the same name to support the effort for marriage equality that is currently taking place in Taiwan. Participants by sharing our selfies, we want to convey a strong message to Tsai administration that the only way to true equality is through amendments to Civil Code, and that Taiwan can rise as the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage.

在短短兩日內已經串連華盛頓DC、紐約、波士頓、北卡、芝加哥、紐澤西、西雅圖、休士頓、佛州、德州・奧斯汀、溫哥華、倫敦、曼徹斯特、柏林、東京等十五個城市與地區的組織者(且陸續增加中),預計將自本週末起,在各地舉行集會聲援行動;除此之外,將在Facebook上發起同名的網路聯署與各地拍照聲援活動(活動頁:https://goo.gl/tUfWi2 ),希望能夠支持台灣的同志朋友與正在為婚姻平權辛苦奮鬥的人們,更要向蔡政府表達海外台灣人的聲音:請修正民法,落實真正的婚姻平權,讓台灣成為亞洲第一個同性婚姻合法化的國家。

Tomorrow (Nov. 30th), the Taiwanese in DMV region will gather in front of the Supreme Court, as it is a meaningful place for marriage equality in the US. We hope to convey the spirit to the Taiwanese legislators and activists who are still fighting for marriage equality. Starting from DC and connecting with cities around the world, the "Overseas Taiwanese support amendments to Civil Code" campaign will be standing in solidarity with the LGBTQ communities in Taiwan until Taiwan becomes the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.  

明日(美東時間11月30日),大華府地區的台灣人將聚集在去年剛通過美國同性婚姻合法化的美國最高法院前,宣布海外串連的開始。希望由這對於婚姻平權極具指標意義的地標作為起點,我們能夠集結海外的力量,支持台灣走完婚姻平權的最後一哩路。

Thank you very much for reading this and we look forward to seeing you tomorrow (November 30th)!

懇請各位媒體先進前來採訪,謝謝!

Sincerely, 

xxx