The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of a transgender woman in mandating that a household registration office in Taoyuan process her request to be registered as female.
The plaintiff, surnamed Chiang (江), filed with the Dasi Household Registration Office in October 2019 to change her registered gender from male to female, but the office denied the request.
It cited a Ministry of the Interior notice that said that Chiang failed to meet two prerequisites to change her gender: be diagnosed by two psychiatrists as identifying with the gender to which they wish to change and undergo surgery to remove genitalia of their birth gender.
Photo: Wu Cheng-feng, Taipei Times
Chiang had not undergone such surgery, the office said.
However, the court said that Chiang provided a diagnosis from two psychiatrists that she identified as female, which demonstrates that she is cognizant and understands her choice, adding that her decision should be upheld and protected by law.
The court ruling said that in accordance with previous Council of Grand Justices interpretations, the rights of personality, health, privacy and body are all protected by the Constitution.
Under the Constitution, the law must uphold the dignity of all people, and afford them the rights to determine their gender and the freedom to develop their character and personality, the court said.
The ministry’s notice contravened the Constitution, as a person’s gender should not be made immutable because of the genitalia they are born with, and they should be allowed to decide their gender, the court said.
Citing the death of Yeh Yung-chih (葉永鋕) as a precedent, the court said that the government should not stop at measures to direct social attention toward the issue or the establishment of gender equality legislation, but should instead offer constitutional protection of every person’s freedom to decide their gender.
Yeh, a high-school senior who had been bullied by classmates due to his perceived effeminate behavior, died on April 21, 2000. He was found lying in a pool of blood on the floor of a school bathroom.
Authorities at the time ruled out foul play. Although the cause of death had not been due to external injuries, Yeh’s death nonetheless prompted Taiwanese society to review gender equality regulations in schools.
The court recommended that the legislature pass new legislation to ensure that the right to gender identification is protected, as the ministry directive could be applied by other household registration offices when dealing with similar cases in the future.
The ruling can be appealed.
The Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, a group that promotes gender equality, on Friday said that the ruling is unprecedented, and it urged the Taoyuan City Government not to file an appeal.
Additional reporting by CNA
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A tropical depression east of the Philippines became a tropical storm early yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, less than a week after a typhoon barreled across the nation. The agency issued an advisory at 3:30am stating that the 22nd tropical storm, named Yinxing, of the Pacific typhoon season formed at 2am. As of 8am, the storm was 1,730km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, with a 100km radius. It was moving west-northwest at 32kph, with maximum sustained winds of 83kph and gusts of up to 108kph. Based on its current path, the storm is not expected to hit Taiwan, CWA
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
RSS