An overwhelming majority of Taiwanese are opposed to decriminalizing adultery, the Ministry of Justice said on Thursday.
The finding is the result of two opinion polls conducted earlier this year, the ministry said.
In a survey conducted in April, 82.2 percent of respondents gave the thumbs-down to decriminalization and only 16.8 percent supported it, the ministry said.
However, after the results of the poll were published by the news media, some academics and advocacy groups questioned the credibility of the findings, accusing the ministry of failing to offer sufficient information to help respondents better understand the general world trend in legislation regarding adultery.
The ministry should have briefed the respondents on current criminal regulations governing adultery, as some respondents might have thought that prosecution of adulterers is the only way to maintain the existing family system, they said.
The ministry should have also proposed supplementary measures that could have made decriminalizing adultery more acceptable, they said.
To address these concerns, the ministry conducted a second survey last month, but this time, the respondents were briefed on regulations governing adultery in the Civil Code and the Criminal Code.
The poll included questions about international trends on promoting gender equality and revising existing laws to meet such standards.
However, the latest survey still found that 77.3 percent of respondents were opposed to decriminalizing adultery.
Those who opposed decriminalization also reached nearly 70 percent even if they were told that the Civil Code would be revised to minimize any possible negative impact of the decriminalization of adultery, the ministry said.
Each of the surveys collected more than 1,700 valid samples, with margins of error of less than 3 percent, it added.
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard
BOOST TO SPORTS? The Executive Yuan said that the amendment was introduced to attract professionals to Taiwan, and increase the incentives for naturalization The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed on third reading an amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) that would reduce the minimum residency period required for highly skilled professionals to apply for naturalization from three to two continuous years, with a minimum of 183 days in Taiwan each year. The 183-day requirement does not apply if an eligible applicant has lived legally in the territory of the Republic of China for more than five continuous years. Taiwan’s professional basketball leagues are expected to benefit from the amendments, which would allow them to recruit more players from overseas. Prior to the passage of the amendment, the
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against