Gender/Sexuality

Global Solidarity Protest for Russia’s LGBT+ Community Held in Taipei

Yo-Ling Chen
Yesterday afternoon, on the first day of Russia’s presidential election, civil society groups hosted a solidarity protest for Russia’s LGBT+ community outside of the Moscow-Taipei Coordination Commission on Economic and Cultural Cooperation’s office in Taipei. The protest, organized by the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights, was part of All Out’s “Global Speak Out for the Russian LGBT+ Community” campaign, which included coordinated protests in ten other countries across the world...
EnglishGender/SexualityMarch 2024Social Movements5 min read

When Will ARA Amendment Discussions Account For Transgender Reproductive Rights?

Yo-Ling Chen
This past Wednesday, the Taiwan Women’s Link hosted a press conference calling for opening up access to assisted reproduction and decoupling the issue of surrogacy from amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (ARA). As part of the press conference, TWL released a petition calling for prioritizing assisted reproduction access for single women and lesbian spouses, such that “all women who want to reproduce” may do so under a system that “ensures women’s reproductive autonomy.” While the TWL’s petition and press conference helped to raise awareness of reproductive rights in Taiwan, it failed to account for the reproductive rights of transgender people in Taiwan...
EnglishFebruary 2024Gender/SexualitySocial Movements7 min read

Transgender Issues Enter Third Party Politics

Yo-Ling Chen
In the past three months, transgender issues have gained unprecedented attention within third party politics in Taiwan, with the Taiwan Solidarity Union rebranding itself as the only political party against abolishing compulsory surgery for changing one’s legal gender and Green Party Taiwan putting forward Taiwan’s first transgender woman to run for office, Abby Wu, as an at-large legislative candidate. This is the first time in Taiwan’s history that transgender issues have been explicitly incorporated into party campaigning. While transgender issues have yet to become a campaign issue in mainstream party politics, the current standoff between the two parties offers a first look into how such politicization would likely play out as the struggle for transgender rights in Taiwan continues...
EnglishGender/SexualityJanuary 2023PoliticsSocial Movements12 min read

Annual Pride Parade Draws Estimated 176,000 in Taipei

Brian Hioe
The annual pride parade that takes in Taipei at the end of October, Taiwan LGBT Pride, was held today. An estimated 153,000 participated in the parade according to organizers, which is up from 120,000 last year. This was the twenty-first year that the pride parade was held. The uptick in attendance may be due to the opening of borders after the end of COVID-19, which had led to lower attendance in past years. ...
EnglishGender/SexualityOctober 2023Social Movements6 min read

Flight Attendant Union Criticizes Taoyuan Government Over Justifying Gendered Uniform Policy

Brian Hioe
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants' Union has criticized the Taoyuan city government’s gender equality committee for siding with EVA Air on a number of policies. This takes place at a time that the union is campaigning for an end to gendered uniforms for flight attendants, seeing as female flight attendants are currently required to wear pencil skirts, stockings, and high-heels, while pants are not allowed...
EnglishGender/SexualityLaborOctober 2023Social Movements6 min read

Supreme Administrative Court Rules Against Compulsory Surgery For Changing Legal Gender

Yo-Ling Chen
On September 21, 2023, the Supreme Administrative Court of the Judicial Yuan nullified the Kaohsiung High Administrative Court's ruling on a transgender woman’s legal gender change appeal and ordered a rehearing. With regards to Ministry of Interior executive order #0970066240, which requires people assigned male at birth to surgically remove their penis and testis and people assigned female at birth to remove their breasts, uterus, and ovaries in order to change their legal gender, the SAC’s decision clearly states that this rule “seriously infringes upon bodily rights, medical rights, human dignity, and right of personality”. Multiple transgender rights organizations, such as the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights and Taiwan Non-binary Queer Sluts, have celebrated the ruling...
EnglishGender/SexualitySeptember 2023Social Movements5 min read

#MeToo Cases in Taiwan Spark Discussion of Deepfakes

Brian Hioe
In August, legal changes to the “Three Gender Equality” laws were passed by the legislature. This was in response to the wave of #MeToo cases that Taiwan has been swept by since late May. Nevertheless, though few of the high-profile cases touched on the issue directly, there has also been increased discussion of “deepfake” images, “revenge porn”, and digitally altered images, as they target women in particular...
EnglishGender/SexualitySeptember 2023Social Movements4 min read

#MeToo in Taiwan’s Music Industry: After Making Waves, Can We Forge a Better Workplace?

Chen-yu Lin
In 2023, a watershed moment emerged in Taiwan’s #MeToo movement with the resounding success of the Netflix series “Wave Makers.” The show’s resonance was profound, shedding light on sexual harassment and abuse in the workplace. This spotlight inspired survivors from politics, education, arts, and entertainment to break their silence...
August 2023EnglishGender/SexualitySocial Movements6 min read