Taipei, March 15 (CNA) Taiwan's Legislature on Friday voted to send a draft bill that would limit the use of the words "marriage" and "spouse" to heterosexual couples to a second reading, where the bill will be reviewed together with another one that would legalize same-sex marriage.

Entitled "The Enforcement Act of Referendum No. 12," the bill was proposed by Kuomintang lawmaker Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆). The New Power Party attempted to block the bill by proposing sending it back to the Procedure Committee but failed to secure enough votes.

Bills in Taiwan have to complete second and third readings by the full Legislature before becoming law.

Under the Legislative Yuan Functioning Act, the high-profile bill will first be "frozen" for one month during which time the ruling and opposition parties will engage in negotiations before the bill's second and third readings. The bill was drafted in response to the passing on Nov. 24, 2018 of referendum No. 12, which asked, "Do you agree to types of unions, other than those stated in the marriage regulations in the Civil Code, to protect the rights of same-sex couples who live together permanently?" Read more via Focus Taiwan