The Taiwan Equality Campaign yesterday marked the first anniversary of the implementation of a special law for same-sex marriage by outlining its four major goals for the next three years.
There is still much work to be done to achieve equal rights, as discrimination and misunderstanding involving the LGBT+ community has not been eradicated, the group said.
Although a poll it released on May 15 about attitudes toward LGBT+ and same-sex marriage showed generally positive results, it still found that 28.4 percent of respondents aged 18 and older believe the passage of the Act for Implementation of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748 (司法院釋字第七四八號解釋施行法) had a negative impact on society, it said.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
Now an independently registered organization, the Taiwan Equality Campaign was preceded by the Marriage Equality Coalition Taiwan — a collection of five groups: the Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ+) Hotline Association, the Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy, the Awakening Foundation, the Lobby Alliance for LGBT Human Rights and GagaOOLala.
The four main goals the campaign has set span the legal, political, educational and international arenas.
One objective is to push for legislation to extend the legal rights of LGBT+ people when it comes to adoption, the use of assisted reproductive technologies and transnational same-sex marriage.
The act now only gives same-sex couples the right to adopt the biological child or children of their spouse, while transnational marriages are only allowed when both parties come from a nation where same-sex marriage is legal.
The Taiwan Equality Campaign said it would also work with other gender equality advocacy groups and human rights experts to draft an “equality act” to protect against LGBT+ discrimination outside a workplace or school, something the laws currently do not do
It hopes to expand its exchanges with LGBT+-friendly lawmakers and their aides, form networks of local city councilors who are supportive of gender equality, and host a training program to foster LGBT+ participation in politics, it said.
To enhance public understanding of LGBT+ people, the group said it would continue to share information on LGBT+issues through social media platforms, conduct street surveys and other research, and host workshops and forums aimed at facilitating workplace equality.
It plans to share Taiwan’s experiences with other LGBT+ groups in Asia, it said, adding that next year it aims to forge an alliance for marriage equality in Asia and hold an international conference.
The campaign also announced the digital release of T-POP: No Fear In Love (踢趴噗：勇敢的愛), a compilation album created in collaboration with the Red Hot Organization.
The album features works by singers 9m88, Enno Cheng (鄭宜農), Zooey Wonder (黃玠瑋), Leaf Yeh (葉穎) and Crowd Lu (盧廣仲), including a remix of 9m88’s If I Could (如果可以) by Grammy-nominated producer starRo and the band Xiu Xiu’s remix of Cheng’s Jade (玉仔的心).
The group also launched a fundraising effort that went live yesterday. A limited number of signed copies of the album are being offered to donors who commit to contributing NT$1,527 per month — an amount signifying the time the same-sex marriage law passed its third reading at the Legislative Yuan on May 17 last year.
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS