In pictures: Asia's first same-sex marriages

Amber Wang, left, and Kristin Huang, right, kiss during their wedding just days after Taiwan passed historical same-sex marriage law, making it the first nation in Asia.

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Updated 1055 GMT (1855 HKT) May 24, 2019

Beaming in the bright sunshine, Amber Wang took the hand of her new wife, Kristin Huang, on the steps of the Xinyi District office in Taipei, Friday, making history as one of the first same-sex couples to marry in Asia.

But just miles away, in the city's outer suburbs, emboldened opponents of marriage equality announced to the press that they would create a new political party to fight for a ban on same-sex marriage at the 2020 election.

Taiwan is an island bitterly divided over a moment which should have made it a shining light for LGBTQ rights in an increasingly repressive region.

Across the island of 24 million people, the first gay and lesbian couples in Asia legally tied the knot, to tears and applause from their friends and family.

Amber Wang and Kristin Huang hold hands on their way to register their marital status and receive new identification cards on Friday, May 24, in Taipei, Taiwan.

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Amber Wang, left, and Kristin Huang, right, get ready before they head out to register their marital status and receive new identification cards in Taipei on Friday.

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Kristin Huang, left, and Amber Wang, right, share a car ride in Taipei on Friday.

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Kristen Huang and Amber Wang prepare the documents and photos needed to register on Friday.

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Xue Chen, left, and Antonia Chen, right, kiss after registering their marital status on Friday.

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The young couple waits in the elevator.

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Gay rights activist Chi Chia-wei shows up at the same-sex wedding party on Friday in Taipei.

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Newly married couple Marc Yuan, right, and Shane Lin, left, celebrate after receiving new identification cards on Friday.

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A same-sex couple brings a wooden stamp to their marriage registration. The Chinese characters symbolize the common word for wedding.

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Just days after Taiwan's legislature passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage for the first time in Asia, couples made their marriages official.

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A lebsian couple awaits registering their marriage in Taipei.

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LGBT activists put up an archway for gay couples to walk a rainbow flag carpet to a stage near the Taipei 101 skyscraper.

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Just married: Kristen Huang, left, and Amber Wang, right, hold their new identification cards on Friday.

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Couples register their marital status and receive new identification cards.

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Kristen Huang, left, and her partner Amber Wang, right, hold their marriage certificates.

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Couples hold hands in Taipei nearly a week after Taiwan's legislature passed a bill legalizing same-sex marriage.

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Gay couple Marc Yuan, left, and Shane Lin, right, come to registration office on Friday to update their marital status and receive new identification cards.

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Amber Wang, right, and Kristin Huang, left, laugh after their marriage as Taiwan passes historical same-sex marriage law, making it the first nation in Asia.

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Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan (the Coalition) poses for a photo with the Department of Civil Affairs, Taipei City Government to throw a same-sex wedding party on Friday in Taipei.

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Marc Yuan, left, and Shane Lin, right, at the household registration office in Shinyi district in Taipei on Friday.

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Kristin Huang, left, and Amber Wang, right, talk about their relationship during a press interview.

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Gay rights activist Chi Chia-wei, right, witnessed gay couple Marc Yuan, left, and Shane Lin, center, register their marital status and receive new identification cards.

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Photographers take pictures of newly married same-sex couples in the Household Registration Office in Shinyi District in Taipei on Friday.

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A same-sex couple waits to register their marriage.

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Kristin Wang, left, and Amber Wang, right, gesture on a rainbow blanket in Taipei.

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In pictures: Asia’s first same-sex marriages