Yo-Ling Chenby Yo-Ling Chen
語言:
English
Photo courtesy of TAPCPR
YESTERDAY, TAIWAN ALLIANCE to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR) plaintiff Nemo finally received his official court decision letter from the Taipei High Administrative Court, who ruled in favor of Nemo’s administrative appeal case on May 30 to allow him to change his gender without providing proof of surgery. Since the Xinyi District Household Registration Office decided not to appeal the Taipei High Administrative Court’s decision, Nemo immediately rushed to Xinyi Household Registration Office with his aunt, Mimi, immediately after receiving his court decision letter and successfully changed his legal gender marker from female to male.
Nemo is now the first transgender man in Taiwan’s history to change his legal gender marker without providing proof of sexual organ removal surgery, as stipulated by the Ministry of Interior’s 2008 executive order (內政部97年11月3日內授中戶字第0970066240號令). Following Xiao E, the first transgender woman in Taiwan to change her legal gender without providing proof of surgery in November of 2021, Nemo is now the second transgender person to do the same in Taiwan.
TAPCPR stated in a press release yesterday that despite exhaustion from being up the entire night prior due to their pet dog giving birth, Nemo and his Aunt Mimi’s elation yesterday upon Nemo successfully changing his legal gender was still palpable. Nemo stated in the press release: “The feeling of being the oldest daughter to becoming the oldest son is something I do not have words to describe!” (「從長女變長男的感覺…，我實在說不出來！」).
There are currently four High Administrative Court rulings in favor of transgender plaintiffs changing their legal genders without providing proof of surgery. Xiao Na, the most recent plaintiff who received a favorable ruling from the Kaohsiung High Administrative Court just days ago on July 17, is also expected to be able to change her legal gender in the next month or two once she receives her official court decision letter, as the Fongshan District Household Registration Office is unlikely to go against the precedent set in Xiao E and Nemo’s case by appealing the High Administrative Court ruling.
Xiao E, Nemo, L, and Xiao Na all provided gender dysphoria diagnosis certificates and other medical evidence to their respective administrative courts during the course of their appeals. The growing legal consensus against compulsory surgery seems to also imply that medical evidence proving stability of gender identity is sufficient grounds for changing one’s legal gender. On August 15th, the Taipei High Administrative Court will rule on another TAPCPR plaintiff, transgender YouTuber and Vogue dancer Vivi, who did not provide any medical evidence of the stability of her gender identity during her court hearings. It remains to be seen whether Taiwan’s legal consensus against compulsory surgery will move towards a non-medical evidence model similar to France’s gender recognition system with Vivi’s case.
Regardless of how the Taipei High Administrative Court rules on Vivi’s case on August 15th, Nemo’s swift and successful legal gender change yesterday–which took about 30 minutes–is yet another historic moment in the history of transgender rights in Taiwan.