During the will of the people in a series of referendums last year more than 2 thirds of voters said marriage should only be defined as a union between a man and a woman but thats far from the minds of these rights activists celebrating what is a landmark day. All right joining me now is kyle nighties an elegy rights researcher for Human Rights Watch in new york mean this has to be seen as a Great Success for taiwans elegy community what was your reaction when you heard the news well its incredibly gratifying to see that the many years of advocacy on the ground in taiwan have paid off but i think over and above the victory in the outcome of same sex marriage recognition before the law is that this is an example of a Government Standing up against popular sentiment in some cases this is an example of a government saying we protect our minorities and respect them and recognize them as
equal before the law even when that might be on top kill or i think thats one of the Takeaway Messages f
marriage same sex relationship recognition rights or same sex marriage yeah that was important and the outcomes are always important in a democracy but they don t override the constitutional judgment from last year where they instructed the government to chart a path towards same sex marriage recognition and to protect minority on everyone else so again i think this just sends an incredible message the government stands up for diversity and pluralism and recognition and equality even in the face of some strong opposition does this bill send a message to the whole i mean could we start to see some sort of domino effect for . it would be great to see a domino effect i mean look there are incredible glints of progress across the region look at nepal the supreme court of nepal ordered the government to do something very similar and study same sex marriage provision all the way back in