A gay rights activist attempted to register his marriage in Taipei yesterday, but was told that only a man and woman can legally marry in Taiwan.

Chief Day-way made the attempt two months after gay couple Nelson Chen (Chen Ching-hsueh) and Kao Chih-wei dropped their legal battle to have their marriage recognized.

Chen said he had lost his faith in the judiciary.

Taipei gay couple Nelson Chen and Kao Chih-wei will declare next week whether or not they are withdrawing their case against the city for not recognizing their same-sex marriage.

The Taipei Times reported on Tuesday that the couple are withdrawing their legal battle, but Chen sent a statement sent to Gay Star News in which he says that he and Kao will announce next Wednesday, 23 January, whether or not they are continuing to fight for recognition.

Taiwan is moving closer to allowing same-sex marriage but a judge has said proposed legislation may fall short of what is needed.

The current proposal changes only articles 972, 973 and 980 of the Civil Code, altering the words from ‘male’ and ‘female’ to gender-neutral language.

But Hsu Li-ying, from the Judicial Yuan's (Supreme Court) Juvenile and Family Department, said the new legislation ‘may need to be more comprehensive’.

Taiwan’s diplomatic representative to the US, King Pu-tsung, has been grilled over his sexuality and relationship with President Ma Ying-jeou during an appearance before the country’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.

King was present to deliver a report on US-Taiwan relations but lawmakers seemed more interested in digging into rumors about his personal life and relationship with the president.

It was an early start to catch my flight from London Gatwick to Arrecife, the airport of Lanzarote.

With London bunkering down for another day of freezing weather (it was -2C as I left my flat), I was feeling slightly smug to be flying south and heading for a temperature of 21C.

A few weeks ago over 50,000 people marched for LGBT rights in Taipei - massively dwarfing any other Pride marches in Asia.

Georgia Kuo thinks LGBT young people in Taiwan are in danger of being too insular and distancing themselves from their parents. She believes that if you give them time and education 80% of Taiwanese parents will accept their LGBT children.

Gay Star News asks her about her own experiences as a parent, societal changes in Taiwan, same-sex marriage and her advice for LGBT kids.

How did you get involved with Loving Parents of LGBT Taiwan?

A campaign for same-sex marriage, civil partnership rights for all and legal protections for relationships between multiple people in Taiwan aims to attract a million signatures by the end of 2013.

The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) has nearly 30,000 signatures on its petition so far - including that of leader of the opposition Su Tseng-chang, well-known feminist Yu Mei Nu and popstars.

Taiwan Pride, the biggest pride march in Asia, is on Saturday (27 October) with 50,000 people expected to march through the streets of Taipei. The organizers have released another two promotional videos, in addition to this one released earlier this month.

The largest LGBT pride parade is geering up for Saturday 27 October when 50,000 people are expected to march through the streets of Taipei, Taiwan.

In the meantime the organizers have set the tone for the parade with the release of a campaign video called Love all the Same, the Same Kind of Love.

A new survey of Taiwanese LGBTs has found that many have experienced abuse by a partner and most are unaware of their rights in responding to spousal abuse.

The survey was conducted by LGBT group Taiwan TongZhi Hotline Association and Taiwan’s Modern Women’s Forum and found that 35 percent of respondents had been physically or psychologically abused in a relationship, but only 11 percent of those said they would seek assistance from officials such as police or health professionals in dealing with that abuse.

The deputy director-general of the Centers for Disease Control has become the first senior official in Taiwan to publicly support gay marriage, in a perfect buildup to a court hearing on the issue next month.