Voters in Taiwan backed anti-gay marriage referendum

Voters in Taiwan have rejected legalising same-sex marriages in a series of referendums on Saturday. 

A referendum calling for marriage to only be recognised as between a man and a woman in Taiwan's Civil Code won more than seven million votes, while another calling for same-sex unions to be regulated under a separate law gained over six million.

Taiwan's top court legalised same-sex marriage in May 2017, the first place in Asia to do so, and ruled that it must be brought in within two years, but the government has made little progress in the face of opposition from conservative groups.

The court did not specify how it wanted gay marriage to be implemented, leaving room for conservative groups to call for separate regulations.

Gay rights activists had proposed that the Civil Code should give same-sex couples equal marriage rights, but only garnered three million votes.

Although the government has made clear the referendum results will not impact the court's original decision to legalise gay marriage, pro-gay campaigners worry that their newly won rights will be weakened.

With all conservative referendums passing the threshold of 25 per cent of eligible voters, under referendum law the government must take steps to reflect the result.

Bad news from Taiwan.