Homosexual community upholds same-sex wedding in Ha Tien | Look At Vietnam

Homosexual community upholds same-sex wedding in Ha Tien

May 31, 2012

LookAtVietnam – After the local authorities penalized two men in Ha Tien city for holding a same-sex wedding, ICS, the largest organization on the interest of homosexuals in Vietnam, has stated that it was legal when the two men organized their wedding party without marriage registration.

Nguyen Hoang Bao Quoc and Truong Van Hen.

In its announcement released on May 30, ICS supported the wedding of Nguyen Hoang Bao Quoc and Truong Van Hen, reasoning that holding wedding party without marriage registration is completely legal. This organization praised the two men for being brave to overcome social discrimination to live with their true nature.
“Love and be loved is not the privilege of any gender. The right to seek happiness is the most fundamental right of everyone. ICS is glad because your love is supported by your families, who organized a wedding for you. This is a humane activity based on parents’ love for their children…,” the press release wrote.
Admitting that same-sex marriage is contrary to the Law on Marriage and Family, ICS said that the Vietnamese law does not ban two persons of the same sex from having relationships, on conditions that they are voluntary, are not juvenile and there is no connection with prostitution.
“Holding a wedding party is not considered as getting married, because it is not recognized by the law. The wedding party is only a get-together so it is wrong if the authorities ban or dismiss it just because it is held by two people of the same sex. Every citizen has the right to do things that are not banned by the law,” ICS said.
According to ICS, the local authorities’ threat to impose fine on the couple is the serious violation of the residential freedom right of citizens. “In other countries, this act can be charged as hate crime,” it wrote.
A same-sex wedding in the Mekong Delta province of Kien Giang’s Ha Tien town has drawn public attention for the last two weeks.
Local people in Ha Tien town in the southern province of Kien Giang keep talking about the wedding of two men though the event has passed for a week.
On May 16, the wedding of Truong Van Hen, 22 (bride) and Nguyen Hoang Bao Quoc (groom) took place at a house on Phuong Thanh Road. The wedding was held in large scale, with the witness of the two men’s parents and the participation of hundreds of guests.
After that the local government asked the couple and their families to come to the local police station to educate them and give them an administrative fine, because the wedding “broke the Law on Marriage and Family.”
Previously, two girls named Nga and Nhu held a marriage and they were also fined for breaking the law.
According to ICS, 19 countries and territories in the world have recognized same-sex marriage. Forty-four others have permitted people of the same sex to register to legally live together under the forms named “civil marriage”, “registered relationship”, “family relations”, etc. with similar rights like marriage of different-sex couples.
Lawyer Nguyen Van Duc from Can Tho city said that there are no grounds for imposing administrative fines on the families that organized same-sex wedding for their children, because the couple did not register for marriage so they are not a legal couple. “The local authorities can only ask them to come to their office to educate them,” he said.
Mai Lan

The marriage rite of the Lo Lo | Look At Vietnam

The marriage rite of the Lo Lo

May 13, 2012

Like other ethnic minorities, the Lo Lo people regard marriage as  an extremely important event in an  individual’s life.

According to Lo Lo custom, the groom’s family must select four match- makers – two men and two women -to  officiate at  the  marriage proposal ceremony. Two happily married couples are usually chosen to carry out this duty.
After selecting an auspicious day, the  four  matchmakers will take two bottles of wine and other offerings to the  bride’s house for the  proposal of marriage. If the bride’s family agrees to the  match,  they  will hold  a feast at which the wine is drunk and the date of the wedding is set.
Wedding gifts must include both sticky rice and ordinary rice, pork and wine for consumption at the wedding party. Other gifts can include a skirt, blouse, bracelet and necklace  for  the  bride  and  even  a quantity of white silver.
The  groom’s family normally brings their offerings to the bride’s house on the eve of the wedding day, making sure that the wedding day itself is an even-numbered  day to  symbolize the union of two people, in the hope that neither of them will ever be alone again.
The offerings are handed over to the bride’s uncle, who presents them to the  head  of  the  bride’s family. The wedding offering ceremony begins with  the  bride’s family worshipping their ancestors and reporting to them on  the  union.
After this they  invite their relatives and friends to eat, drink and share their happiness. The bride is usually given  gifts of  scarves, shirts, money and other items by the guests. The ceremony involves much singing and takes place in a very intimate atmosphere. That  night,  members of the  bride’s family will sing all night long to wish the bride and groom well.
The  wedding takes place on the following day. After breakfast, the groom  and his groomsman worship their ancestors and  then  kowtow  to  the bride’s parents, uncle and guests. The uncle  then  leads his niece  from  her bridal chamber and presents her to the groom’s family.
At this juncture all of the bride’s family cries to show their their attachment to her. The bride her- self is expected  to  cry the  most,  to show that she doesn’t want to leave her natural parents. Bridesmaids from both families accompany the  bride out  of her  house.
Then  the  “bringing  the bride home”  party –  comprising the four matchmakers, followed by the bride, the bridesmaids and the groom’s relatives –  processes to  the  groom’s house.
The bride is welcomed at the groom’s house in much the same way that the groom was greeted at the bride’s house on the previous day, with drinking and singing by the four matchmakers. According to Lo Lo custom, when the bride steps into the groom’s house, the groom’s parents must temporarily hide themselves, because it  is feared that their  presence might  overwhelm  the bride’s soul, endangering her future health.
Soon after the bride’s party has arrived at the groom’s house, the bride’s uncle turns up with his niece’s dowry, which typically includes a pig, a chicken, a hoe,  a pan, a knife, clothing for the bride, wine, meat and sticky rice. If the bride’s family is  rich,  he  may  even bring a cow.
The groom’s family then hosts the wedding party, at which they too must sing together all night long to wish the young couple happiness. When seeing the bride’s uncle back to his home, the groom’s family will reimburse some money to him as travel expenses and gifts, based on the amount of the bride’s dowry.
Three days after the wedding day, the couple returns to the bride’s house to visit and greet the whole family. They stay there for a few days but then they go back to live at the groom’s house.
VCW

Two Chinese among seven nabbed in illegal marriage brokering case | Look At Vietnam

Two Chinese among seven nabbed in illegal marriage brokering case 

April 17, 2012

Police in Ho Chi Minh City have arrested seven people, including two Chinese men, in busting an illegal marriage brokerage ring, the Vietnamnet news website reported Friday.
According to the report, the people were meeting a group of Vietnamese women at a hotel in District 11, when police raided it on Thursday.

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Initial information is that the Chinese men were seeking wives via brokers and the hotel’s manager.
After the bust, the women were released, while the suspects were kept in custody for further investigation, Vietnamnet said.

Thanh Nien News