Civil union (民事结合)

“Civil union” is the umbrella label for legally recognized partnership statuses created outside marriage — registered partnership, civil partnership, life partnership, and other local names. Such schemes typically grant a subset of spousal rights (medical decision-making, taxation, social security), but the exact package depends entirely on the legislation, and gaps are common around adoption and cross-border recognition.

Historically it has usually been the station before marriage equality: Denmark created the world’s first registered partnership scheme for same-sex couples in 1989, and many countries then followed the path of “civil union first, marriage later.” That is also why the model stays controversial — supporters see a pragmatic transition; critics argue that a separate institution is, by design, separate and unequal.

Register note: a legal and journalistic term. When discussing a specific place, name the local scheme and its actual list of rights — the substance behind “civil union” varies enormously between jurisdictions, so the label alone tells you little.

Common misreading: first, conflating it with marriage equality — Taiwan’s 2019 law was enacted as a special act but provides marriage registration, not a civil union. Second, assuming mainland China has something similar — it currently has no same-sex partnership registration of any kind; the tool actually available under current law is yiding jianhu (voluntary guardianship).