news, politics

Voters across Taiwan are voting in 10 referendums, five of which are on gay rights including marriage equality, in parallel with local elections. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen early on Saturday lined up for 30 minutes to cast her votes in New Taipei, telling reporters that voting in referendums is a way to show that Taiwan is a democracy. In such a democratic society, she said, the public has the rights to express their opinions, state-run Central News Agency reported. Sunny skies on Saturday across the island encouraged people to go out and vote. Long queues were observed outside many polling stations around the country. A 48-year-old man surnamed Han, a resident in New Taipei, told dpa that he had waited for an hour before casting his votes in local elections and referendums. Gay rights groups initiated two referendums: one proposing equal marriage rights for same-sex unions and one on the inclusion of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) issues in the sex education curriculum. Conservative opponents initiated three other referendums: one to exclude same-sex marriage from the civil code; one to establish a separate same-sex union law; and a third to leave LGBT issues off the curriculum. In May 2017, Taiwan's constitutional court declared that the civil code could not ban same-sex unions and gave the legislature two years to grant full legal rights to such couples. The legislature has yet to approve marriage equality revisions. Rights groups are aiming to make Taiwan the first Asian nation to legalise same-sex marriage. A number of leading cultural figures, progressive priests and Buddhist nuns have urged the public to show respect to LGBT groups in the referendums. Other referendums taking place on Saturday refer to nuclear power, energy policy, food safety and Taiwan's representation at international games. Taiwan has had six referendums, none of which have succeeded. Meanwhile, about 19.2 million voters above the age of 20, or 82 per cent of the population, are eligible to cast their ballots in the local elections. Simultaneously, 19.8 million voters above 18 are eligible to vote in the 10 legally binding referendums. A referendum needs a minimum of 4.95 million votes in favour to pass. In the last local elections in November 2014, the then-opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won 13 out of the 22 local authorities, paving the way for chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen to win a landslide victory in early 2016's presidential election. Taiwan's next presidential election is due to be held in January 2020. A controversial pension reform, economic difficulties and worsening relations with arch-rival China mean that Tsai and her ruling party now face tight races in major cities, such as the southern port of Kaohsiung and northern New Taipei City, which surrounds the capital Taipei. Taiwan is a self-governing democracy over which Beijing claims sovereignty. Australian Associated Press