Taipei, May 24 (CNA) A total of 526 same-sex couples registered for marriage in Taiwan on Friday, the first day same-sex marriage was legal in the country.
According to statistics compiled by the Ministry of the Interior, the newlyweds included 185 male couples and 341 female couples.
New Taipei registered the most married same-sex couples at 117 followed by Taipei with 95 and Kaohsiung with 72, the statistics showed.
While there were 511 couples in which both parties were Taiwanese, 15 couples matched a Taiwanese and a foreign national.
Under the Enforcement Act of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748, which was passed on May 17 and signed into law by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Wednesday, two people of the same gender aged 18 or older are allowed to register for marriage, with at least two witnesses signing the registration document.
They will be able to enjoy the same rights as heterosexual couples in terms of inheritances and medical powers of attorney. A party will be allowed to adopt the biological children of the other, but not the non-biological ones he or she had previously adopted.
(By Stacy Hsu and Elizabeth Hsu)
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