A new draft on gender reassignment regulations came under heavy fire over the past week as transgender rights advocates accused the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) of backpedaling on reforms.
On Friday, a meeting on the issue organized by the ministry left the draft undecided, with representatives from transgender groups, religious groups and government agencies unable to reach a consensus on the regulations.
The draft came as a serious setback for transgender activists, following what was described as a landmark victory last month, when the legislature demanded that the ministry eliminate an “inhumane” administrative order which requires the surgical removal of gender-specific organs before gender reassignment.
Although the ministry complied with demands to abolish the surgical requirement — which has long been criticized of leading many transgender people to undergo cheap, unsafe surgeries — its new draft provoked an equal amount of resistance.
The new proposals would bar married applicants or those with children from applying for gender reassignment, as well as allowing gender reassignment only once in an applicant’s lifetime.
The draft also retained the requirement for applicants to undergo two psychiatric assessments, along with an additional evaluation by a special committee.
Transgender activists and their supporters said the draft would impose strict obstacles on many people who wish to legally change their registered gender, adding that Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) failed to follow through on his agreement with legislators.
Transgender Punk Activist, a transgender rights advocacy group, wrote in a Facebook post on Saturday that the proposed regulations infringed on the rights of transgender people.
“Some transgender people entered marriage arrangements in the gender they were born with and had children, but in mid-life realized that they could not bear to live lives in which they were unable to be themselves,” the group said.
Transgender and Transsexual People Care Association secretary-general Zoe Ye (葉若瑛) — who was born a male but identifies as a transgender woman — described the new draft regulations as “obviously against human rights in many aspects,” adding that the ministry’s claims to reform were clearly just “a show.”
On Dec. 25 last year, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) and long-time political activist Shih Ming-te (施明德) cited an agreement with the ministry that new regulations on gender reassignment would be finalized within one month.
Civil society groups yesterday protested outside the Legislative Yuan, decrying Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) efforts to pass three major bills that they said would seriously harm Taiwan’s democracy, and called to oust KMT caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁). It was the second night of the three-day “Bluebird wintertime action” protests in Taipei, with organizers announcing that 8,000 people attended. Organized by Taiwan Citizen Front, the Economic Democracy Union (EDU) and a coalition of civil groups, about 6,000 people began a demonstration in front of KMT party headquarters in Taipei on Wednesday, organizers said. For the third day, the organizers asked people to assemble
Taipei is participating in Osaka’s Festival of Lights this year, with a 3m-tall bubble tea light installation symbolizing Taiwan’s bubble tea culture. The installation is designed as a bubble tea cup and features illustrations of Taipei’s iconic landmarks, such as Taipei 101, the Red House and North Gate, as well as soup dumplings and the matchmaking deity the Old Man Under the Moon (月下老人), affectionately known as Yue Lao (月老). Taipei and Osaka have collaborated closely on tourism and culture since Taipei first participated in the festival in 2018, the Taipei City Department of Information and Tourism said. In February, Osaka represented
POOR IMPLEMENTATION: Teachers welcomed the suspension, saying that the scheme disrupted school schedules, quality of learning and the milk market A policy to offer free milk to all school-age children nationwide is to be suspended next year due to multiple problems arising from implementation of the policy, the Executive Yuan announced yesterday. The policy was designed to increase the calcium intake of school-age children in Taiwan by drinking milk, as more than 80 percent drink less than 240ml per day. The recommended amount is 480ml. It was also implemented to help Taiwanese dairy farmers counter competition from fresh milk produced in New Zealand, which is to be imported to Taiwan tariff-free next year when the Agreement Between New Zealand and
IDENTITY SHIFT: Asked to choose to identify as either Taiwanese or Chinese, 83.3 percent of respondents chose Taiwanese, while 8.4 percent chose Chinese An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese, 71.5 percent, think that Taiwan should compete in international competitions under the name “Taiwan,” a Taiwan Brain Trust survey published yesterday showed. Referring to Taiwan’s victory last month at the World Baseball Softball Confederation’s Premier12, the survey results showed that 89.1 percent of respondents said that Taiwan’s exceptional performance in sporting competitions furthers national unity. Only 18.8 percent of respondents supported Taiwanese teams’ continued use of the name “Chinese Taipei” in international sporting competitions, the survey showed. Among Taiwan’s leading political parties, the name “Team Taiwan” was supported by 91.1 percent of self-identified Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) supporters,
RSS