On Wednesday, the National Taiwan University (NTU) Student Association published the profiles of students campaigning for positions on the school’s Gender Equity Education Committee.
As a student representative on National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University’s Gender Equity Education Committee, I find a large number of the proposed policies at NTU utterly appalling, if not downright disgraceful regarding gender equality.
Most students run for positions in the students’ association on campus with the goal of improving and fighting for students’ rights. Unfortunately, some candidates have exploited campus democracy and civic engagement at the expense of the public.
The policies these candidates suggested in their campaigns were often outlandish, ludicrous and ill-natured, such as a student at Kaohsiung Senior High School proposing to “establish a ‘Nazi empire’” in the school and to “send people to ‘concentration camps’” in 2017.
It is hard to imagine that such careless use of Holocaust analogies have appeared on campus.
Consequently, the misconduct of these “black sheep” have brought shame to the students’ unions and damaged Taiwan’s international image.
Regarding NTU’s recent student election, some of the policies proposed by the candidates were extremely misogynistic and crude.
A candidate surnamed Lin proposed to “establish legal sex zones” at the plaza in front of the university’s main library and the lawn behind it between midnight and 5am.
Another candidate surnamed Wu wrote that he would “put an end to feminists having their cake and eating it,” “punish Taiwanese women” and so on.
The term “Taiwanese women” (台女) is used derogatorily on social media to generalize women in Taiwan as being self-centered, vain and spoiled.
Even though there is a possibility that these candidates were writing under false names for fun, they have chosen the wrong place and time for it. By using a platform meant to promote gender equality to convey sexist discourse is to go against the very nature and purpose of the committee.
Under Article 9 of the Gender Equity Education Act (性別平等教育法), the gender equity education committee of a school must consist of “faculty, staff, parents, students and experts with gender equity consciousness,” which questions the eligibility of the aforementioned NTU candidates.
Are they really fit to run for the committee? With such gender-biased values, we could hardly expect them to push for gender equality and eliminate gender discrimination once elected.
Lai Yen-cheng is a doctoral candidate at National Yangming Chiao Tung University and a member of the university’s Gender Equity Education Committee.
Translated by Rita Wang
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