Smokey Bear

Remember this man.

His name is Chi Chia Wei, the very first gay man in Taiwan who dared to come out of closet in public back in 1986, while the country was still under martial law.

Mr. Chi had been fighting to legalize same sex marriage for 41 years.

He and his fellow comrades put the very first version of same sex marriage act in the parliament in 2002.

In 2005, after the act was suspended, he made his first attempt to appeal to the Constitutional court. The court ruled the current civil code which excluded same sex marriage was ‘constitutional’.

In 2016, the civil code amendments past the first reading then the committee with Godspeed. And then it suddenly stopped in early 2017, for Mr Chi’s second appeal had made it to the Constitutional court the second time.

The court gave a historical ruling this afternoom: the current civil code is deem unconstitutional for not including same sex marriage. The parliament must make amends in two years to fulfill civil code’s constitutional role. If the parliament fails to do that in 2 years, then same sex marriage will automatically become legal.

Remember this man.

His name is Chi Chia Wei, the very first gay man in Taiwan who dared to come out of closet in public back in 1986, while the country was still under martial law.

Mr. Chi had been fighting to legalize same sex marriage for 41 years.

He and his fellow comrades put the very first version of same sex marriage act in the parliament in 2002.

In 2005, after the act was suspended, he made his first attempt to appeal to the Constitutional court. The court ruled the current civil code which excluded same sex marriage was ‘constitutional’.

In 2016, the civil code amendments past the first reading then the committee with Godspeed. And then it suddenly stopped in early 2017, for Mr Chi’s second appeal had made it to the Constitutional court the second time.

The court gave a historical ruling this afternoom: the current civil code is deem unconstitutional for not including same sex marriage. The parliament must make amends in two years to fulfill civil code’s constitutional role. If the parliament fails to do that in 2 years, then same sex marriage will automatically become legal.

Great cities have texture. They have buildings, places and communities that reflect their unique character and history.

Vancouver may yet become a great city. But for now, it is, as Douglas Coupland so aptly described it, a City of Glass, all shiny and new. Except for its spectacular setting, visitors might be hard-pressed to say exactly where they have landed.

There are, of course, unique places. But they are rapidly disappearing, and none is at greater risk than Chinatown, which teeters on the edge of extinction despite being designated a National Historic Site in 2011.

It is so close to the edge that Carol Lee of the Vancouver Chinatown Foundation fears that without a concerted local, provincial and national effort it may be lost by the end of this year.

The neighbourhood has been eroded one neon sign, one family-run business and one clan building at a time. But at greater risk than the bricks, mortar and unique streetscapes blending Chinese and late 19th century Canadian architectural styles is the neighbourhood’s cultural heritage.

Hipsters have heralded gentrification. Trendy restaurants, skateboard shops, coffee bars and cannabis dispensaries may be the tipping point, she said. And not in a good way.

“Relentless development threatens the physical fabric of this nationally significant urban cultural landscape,” the National Trust said last year when it put Chinatown on its 10 most-endangered sites.