During a political talk show on Oct. 19, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Standing Committee member and Tainan City Councilor Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) used the words “ass-shake diplomacy” to criticize Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) as “a woman’s liaison with China” and her trip to Beijing as “ass-shaking.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青), who was also a guest on the talk show, protested against these inappropriate comments, but Hsieh did not stop his verbal attacks and said even nastier things on the nationally broadcast program.
The Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women’s Rights (TAPWR) believes that verbal abuse referring to differences in physiology and gender highlights a misconception about gender that has long existed in Taiwan. This is based on the mistaken belief that verbal abuse does not constitute violence, as well as confusion between formal and substantive equality.
Violence is loathsome and terrifying not only because of the direct effects physical violence has on life and health, but also because it represents the power to control and endanger the freedom of its victims, their safety, existence and further development. Verbal abuse in essence represents the exact same deprivation of rights and psychological oppression that physical violence does.
Comments like “ass-shake diplomacy” emphasize the bodily characteristics of a certain individual or group to dismiss their positive qualities and the unique skills they employ in their social roles, as well as the public character that such roles should possess. Language that discriminates against gender by way of insults and denigration is an undeniable form of violence.
Hsieh’s comments were a clear attempt to use Chen’s physical characteristics as a woman to avoid commenting on her professional abilities as a politician or getting into a debate on public policy. This was not only an encroachment on Chen’s rights, but also dealt a blow to public deliberation on social policy issues.
In 2007, Taiwan ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), a code for the protection of the rights of women. In its preamble, the CEDAW states: “Despite these various instruments, extensive discrimination against women continues to exist, recalling that discrimination against women violates the principles of equality of rights and respect for human dignity, is an obstacle to the participation of women, on equal terms with men, in the political, social, economic and cultural life of their countries, hampers the growth of the prosperity of society and the family and makes more difficult the full development of the potentialities of women in the service of their countries and of humanity.”
The TAPWR therefore calls for recognition of the fact that verbal abuse is an outward expression of gender discrimination and violence in the home. If we want to enjoy the right to liberty, security and freedom from fear, then we should demand that political parties and the legislature abide by CEDAW to stop discriminatory remarks based on a woman’s physicality or their private affairs and that a system be set up to deal with these issues. Moreover, this system should take precedence over party concerns and should not be compromised in return for superficial verbal apologies or tolerance for such behavior.
Cheng Kai-jung is deputy secretary-general of the Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women’s Rights. Lin Hsin-yeh is a consultant at the association.
TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON
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