TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Legislative Yuan Legal Bureau (立法院法制局), Taiwan's parliament's legal research arm, officially proposed Monday (Nov. 24) significantly reducing prohibited degrees of consanguinity in marriage laws from six degrees to four degrees. The comprehensive proposal aims to reflect major societal shifts in modern family structures following a controversial Kaohsiung court case that voided a marriage between distant relatives. The Kaohsiung Juvenile and Family Court (高雄少年及家事法院) declared the marriage completely void because the couple's grandmothers were sisters, violating current restrictive laws.
The Legal Bureau highlighted that younger generations often have significantly less contact with extended relatives, which substantially increases the risk of unknowingly breaching complex consanguinity laws. The current restrictive regulations established in 1998 for eugenic reasons contrast sharply with those of many countries, which limit prohibited degrees to only three. The bureau suggests revising the legal consequences from a permanent "void marriage" to "voidable," citing successful legislative precedents in Germany, Japan, and Taiwan, particularly in their progressive same-sex marriage laws.
Lawmakers expressed considerable optimism about the proposed changes, noting the significant evolution of societal norms and the remarkable precision of modern genetic testing that justify thoroughly reevaluating current restrictions. However, Dr. Li Maosheng (李茂盛), director of the respected Lee Women's Hospital (茂盛醫院), cautioned that reducing prohibited degrees could substantially increase the risk of birth defects. Li specifically warned that the proposed changes could fail to address Taiwan's serious declining birthrate problem.
Dr. Li emphasized the critical importance of strengthening comprehensive childcare policies, optimizing government subsidy programs, and encouraging early marriage among young people to effectively combat Taiwan's serious demographic challenges. He urged lawmakers to carefully consider long-term, comprehensive legislation to prevent potential societal disruption from the proposed marriage law changes. The ongoing debate reflects broader questions about striking a balance between traditional values and modernity in Taiwan's evolving family law system. ◼