Taipei gay couple Nelson Chen and Kao Chih-wei will declare next week whether or not they are withdrawing their case against the city for not recognizing their same-sex marriage.

The Taipei Times reported on Tuesday that the couple are withdrawing their legal battle, but Chen sent a statement sent to Gay Star News in which he says that he and Kao will announce next Wednesday, 23 January, whether or not they are continuing to fight for recognition.

Chen asked their supporters to back Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR)’s petition for a new system of marriage with same-sex marriages and civil partnerships for all.

Chen also said that Victoria Hsu, the director of TAPCPR, was the only person who could persuade him to keep fighting the case.

Hsu told Gay Star news that she supports ‘every LGBTI person to fight for equality through legal actions or participation in social movement’ but she ‘can not decide [Chen’s case] for him’.

‘We will respect his decision,’ Hsu, who is a lawyer, said.

‘We think that the result of a constitutional interpretation is uncertain, but even if the final ruling of the Honorable Justices is not what we expect, it will be the decision of the Honorable Justices to be criticized, no one should blame the individuals who have brought the cases into the court.’

Chen told Gay Star News that there wasn’t ‘one single reason’ why he is considering dropping out, but he told reporters that he received a threat on Facebook.

Last April Chen announced that he had dropped the legal action over relative’s fears over inheritance rights, only to pick it up again four months later.

At the end of October over 50,000 people in Taipei joined the Pride march with the theme ‘marriage revolution’.

Leader of the opposition Su Tseng-Chang announced his support for same-sex marriage the day before Taipei Pride, and many activists believe marriage equality will come to Taiwan by the next presidential election in 2016.