Members of the Gender Equality Committee of the Executive Yuan said last week that the marriage law reform team should include members from the LGBTQ community and experts who have more understanding of the issue.

During the committee's first meeting after the Grand Justices' announcement in May, the reform team was confronted with the diversity of its composition by several members of the committee, including Victoria Hsu (許秀雯), lawyer and board director of the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR).

"Is there any openly gay member in the team?" asked Hsu in the meeting.

Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶), chairperson of the reform team, said that now they are still at the initial stages of the process and therefore they are focusing more on internal discussion. There will be platforms for public discussion when the draft is sent to the legislature.

According to Chen, she has been exchanging ideas with students and colleagues that are openly gay and also joined discussions with priests to gain opinions from those who oppose same-sex marriage. She has stated clearly that the Executive Yuan will follow the decision made by the Grand Justice Council even though she understands the concerns of religious groups. Read more via Taiwan News