Taiwan Becomes First Nation in Asia

to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage by Theodore Pigott, special correspondent

It certainly has been a roller-coaster ride for those in favor of

same-sex marriage in Taiwan. For years, proponents of equal marriage

rights fought for marriage equality. Then, in May of 2017, Taiwan’s

Constitutional Court passed a ruling that stated that under the

Constitution of the Republic of China, same-sex couples have the

right to get married in Taiwan. Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan was then

given two years to update the country’s marriage laws to bring them in

line with the ruling.

Not everyone was pleased with these developments, however. Some Christian groups and

conservatives held rallies to oppose same-sex marriage in Taiwan. At the same time, the government

seemed to be slow to take any steps forward. The fight for same-sex marriage in Taiwan reached its

nadir in November of 2018, when voters in Taiwan overwhelmingly supported referendums that

objected to same-sex marriage as well as LGBTQ education in schools.

Without a doubt, the results of these referendums shocked many people. After all, Taiwan has

the largest gay pride parade in Asia, and the LGBTQ community appeared to enjoy widespread

support in many parts of Taiwan, in particular Taipei. Yet, the 2018 referendums seemed to indicate

that perhaps the general population in Taiwan may have been more conservative and less supportive

of same-sex marriage than many had believed.

Nevertheless, the government in Taiwan decided to go forward with updating the country’s

marriage laws, in accordance with the Constitutional Court’s ruling. In February of 2019, a bill

giving equal rights to same-sex married couples was passed by the Executive Yuan. A few months

later, on May 17, this bill was passed by the Legislative Yuan, to the cheers of the thousands of

same-sex marriage supporters who had gathered in the rain to celebrate the historic moment.

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This month in history

Dolly the sheep was born in Scotland on July 5, 1996. It

was the first clone produced from the cell of an adult

mammal.

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Perhaps Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen summed it up best with a hashtag in her tweet:

“#LoveWon!”

Reading Comprehension

( ) 1. Which of the following do you think is the main idea of this passage? (main idea)

(A) For most of its history, Taiwan has supported equal rights for members of all communities, including

those in the LGBTQ community.

(B) The road to same-sex marriage was a clear and easy path, with very few obstacles in the way of those in

favor of equal marriage rights.

(C) Instead of issues such as marriage equality, most people in Taiwan are more concerned with economic

issues such as low salaries.

(D) Though the journey to marriage equality in Taiwan has had its ups and downs, it is now legal for same-sex

couples to get married in Taiwan.

( ) 2. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “nadir” in the last sentence of the second paragraph

mean? (words in context)

(A) A waste of time. (B) A very successful period.

(C) The lowest point. (D) The most popular moment.

( ) 3. According to the passage, which of the following statements is true? (supporting details)

(A) The government decided it must take action in the interest of public safety, as a result of widespread

protests.

(B) The government condemned the people who had expressed their thoughts and beliefs in the November

2018 referendums.

(C) The government acted in accordance with the Constitutional Court, which had ruled that same-sex

couples have the right to get married in Taiwan.

(D) The government could not agree on what actions it should take when it comes to same-sex marriage in

Taiwan, so they decided to hold another referendum.

Open Question:

� What do you think makes for a marriage happy and successful? Why?

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________

Vocabulary and Phrases

1. constitution [&κΑνστ1τϕυΣ1ν] n. [C] 憲法

2. in line with phr. 與…一致的，與…相符的

3. oppose [1ποζ] vt. 反對，阻撓

4. overwhelmingly [&οϖ2ηωΕλµΙ9λΙ] adv. 壓倒性地

5. after all phr. 畢竟

6. community [κ1µϕυν1τΙ] n. [C] 群體

7. nevertheless [&νΕϖ2∆1λΕσ] adv. 然而，不過

8. in accordance with phr. 依據，遵從，與…一致

Words for Recognition

1. proponent [πρ1πον1ντ] n. [C] 提倡者，擁護者 2. supportive [σ1πΟρτΙϖ] adj. 支持的

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Working Anytime, Anywhere:

Digital Nomad by Theodore Pigott, special correspondent

What if you could work anywhere in the world? Would you like to spend part of the year in Bali,

part in Peru, and part in Paris, all while continuing to complete work projects and earn money?

Though this may sound like a far-fetched dream, the spread of high-speed Internet networks and the

development of increasingly powerful laptop computers and mobile devices have __1__ this dream

into a reality.

Today, thousands of people around the world are actively involved in what some have called

“location-independent work.” That is, these people are able to work and earn money no matter

where they are, which has __2__ them to travel the world and settle down wherever they want, for as

long they would like.

Welcome to the world of the digital nomad, the increasingly popular lifestyle of those who

work remotely via the Internet while traveling from place to place, without a fixed __3__. Studies

have shown that there are now almost 5 million U.S. citizens who could be considered digital nomads,

and this number continues to grow.

Digital nomads take part in all kinds of work, such as coding, content marketing, social media

management, web design, writing, and editing, to name just a few. Many digital nomads are in their

twenties and thirties, and they usually focus on freelance work, though some may have long-term

contracts with clients. Digital nomads usually like to go to places that are interesting or inexpensive.

However, access to stable, high-speed Internet services is a __4__. Though they can be found almost

anywhere in the world, most end up in cities like Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam or Chiang Mai in

Thailand.

Of course, being a digital nomad does have its downside,

including loneliness, a __5__ of long-term friendships, and feelings

of impermanence. Nevertheless, if you want to travel and see the

world, and you’d like to keep working while you do, then the life of

a digital nomad may be just for you.

Fill in the Blanks

(A) lack (B) must (C) home (D) freed (E) turned

(1)__________ (2)__________ (3)__________ (4)__________ (5)__________

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Vocabulary and Phrases

1. far-fetched [φΑρφΕτΣτ] adj. 難以置信的

2. location [λοκεΣ1ν] n. [C] 地點，位置

3. that is (to say) phr. 也就是說，換句話說

4. settle down phr. 定居

5. via [ϖαΙ1] prep. 藉由，透過

6. take part in phr. 參與…

7. coding [κοδΙ9] n. [U] 編寫電腦程式

8. access [8κσΕσ] n. [U] 使用的機會或權利

Words for Recognition

1. freelance [φρι&λ8νσ] adj. 自由業者的 2. impermanence [Ιµπ3µ1ν1νσ] n. [U] 非永久，暫時性

閱讀測驗解答：1. D 2. C 3. C

文意選填解答：1. E 2. D 3. C 4. B 5. A （圖片來源：Shutterstock、Depositphotos）

Did You Know?

� Q: Which country is the first one in the world to achieve marriage equality?

A: It’s Netherlands!

� Q: Which country is the first one in northern America to achieve marriage equality?

A: It’s Canada!

� Q: Which country is the first one in Latin America to achieve marriage equality?

A: It’s Argentina!

� Q: Which country is the first one in Oceania to achieve marriage equality?

A: It’s New Zealand!

The following is a list of some related words and phrases:

homosexual 同性戀

heterosexual 異性戀

lesbian 女同性戀

gay 男同性戀(也可作同性戀的總稱)

bisexual 雙性戀

transgender 跨性別

queer 酷兒(對自身性別或性向感到疑惑)

LGBTQ 男/女同性戀、雙性戀、跨性別者、酷兒

come out (of the closet) 出櫃，公開表明自己是同性戀

homophobia 恐同，對同性戀的恐懼或厭惡

For more information, visit https://tinyurl.com/yxhk9r6q or scan the picture with COCOAR2!

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Translation

臺灣成為亞洲第一個同性婚姻合法化的國家

這段日子對臺灣的同性婚姻支持者而言，就像搭雲霄飛車一般地大起大落。提倡婚姻平權的人們為此

奮鬥多年，後來大法官會議在 2017 年 5 月做出裁決，聲明受中華民國憲法保障的臺灣同性伴侶有結婚的權

利，並要求立法院在兩年內完成相關婚姻法規的修改，以配合落實此一裁決。

然而，並非所有的人都樂見這樣的發展。有些基督教團體以及保守人士在臺灣發起反同婚集會。與此

同時，政府似乎也遲遲未採取任何更進一步的行動。2018 年 11 月時，臺灣同婚運動的氣勢來到谷底，當時

臺灣選民以壓倒性的票數，通過了反對同婚、反對學校實施同志教育的公投案。

這樣的公投結果無疑震驚了許多人，畢竟臺灣有亞洲最大的同志遊行活動，而且同志族群看似在臺灣

許多地方（尤其是臺北）享有廣泛支持，但從 2018 年的公投看來，或許臺灣民眾可能還是比較保守、並不

像許多人以為的那麼支持同性婚姻。

不過，臺灣政府決定依照大法官會議的裁決修改婚姻法規。一項賦予同婚伴侶平等權利的法案於 2019

年 2 月由行政院敲定，並在幾個月後的 5 月 17 日由立法院三讀通過。成千上萬的同婚支持者在雨中一起為

這歷史性的一刻齊聲歡呼。

也許臺灣的蔡英文總統在其推特上的標註正為此做了最好的總結：#LoveWon！

隨時隨地皆可工作的數位游牧民族

如果可以在世界各地工作，你覺得如何？想不想在一年當中，分別到峇里島、秘魯、巴黎各待一段時

間，並同時完成工作賺取收入？雖然這聽起來像是個難以置信的夢想，但高速網路普及，而且筆記型電腦

與行動裝置的功能日益強大，已讓這個夢想成真了。

今日，世界各地有很多人積極參與某些人所稱的「遠距工作」，無論在哪裡都能工作賺錢，可以自由地

到處旅遊，而且可以在任何他們想要的地方定居，想待多久就待多久。

歡迎來到數位游牧民族的世界，這個族群的生活方式越來越流行了：居無定所，透過網路可以在到處

旅遊的同時也遠端工作。研究顯示現在有將近五百萬名美國公民可算是數位游牧民族，而且這個數字仍在

持續增加當中。

數位游牧民族參與各種工作，像是寫程式、內容行銷、社群媒體管理、網站設計、寫作，還有編輯等

等，族繁不及備載。許多數位游牧民族大多二、三十歲，通常都是自由業者，不過也有些人會與案主訂立

長期合約。數位游牧民族通常喜歡去有趣或花費不高的地方，可是一定要有穩定的高速網路可用。雖然他

們的行蹤幾乎遍及世界各地，但大部分的數位游牧民族都在越南的胡志明市或泰國的清邁等地落腳。

當然，數位游牧民族的生活也是有缺點的，例如孤獨、缺乏長久的友誼，還有難以定下來的感覺。不

過如果你想遊覽世界、而且想同時繼續工作的話，那麼數位游牧民族的生活可能就很適合你哦！

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