Gender/Sexuality

Deepfakes Present Issues for Legislation in Taiwan

Brian Hioe
DPP legislators Fan Yun and Kao Chia-yu held a press conference late last year to call for stronger action on the misuse of sexually explicit images, such as revenge porn, deepfakes, or images otherwise taken without consent and used for coercive purposes. The press conference was held jointly with civil societies such as the Judicial Reform Foundation, Taipei Women's Rescue Foundation, and Garden of Hope Foundation, the latter two of which are prominent women’s groups in Taiwan. The press conference was to call for changes to a draft bill from the Executive Yuan on the issue...
EnglishGender/SexualityMarch 2023PoliticsSocial Movements5 min read

Lisbeth Wu Case Sent Back to Taipei High Administrative Court

Yo-Ling Chen
This past Friday, the Constitutional Court of the Judicial Yuan decided not to move forward with a constitutional interpretation for Lisbeth Wu’s case regarding regulations requiring proof of surgery to change one’s legal gender. The specific regulation under scrutiny is 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. Over the past few days, people following Taiwan’s trans rights movement have attempted to make sense of the Constitutional Court’s decision to send Wu’s case back to the Taipei High Administrative Court...
EnglishFebruary 2023Gender/SexualitySocial Movements6 min read

Restrictions on Transnational Gay Marriages Lifted, Following Four Years of Advocacy

Brian Hioe
In one of the last outgoing acts of Premier Su Tseng-chang’s cabinet, the Ministry of the Interior announced that restrictions on transnational gay marriages would be lifted last night. This took place through the Ministry of the Interior issuing a letter to the Department of Household registration asking it to amend relevant procedures. It is expected that the changes will be implemented after the Lunar New Year...
EnglishGender/SexualityJanuary 2023Social Movements6 min read

Fourth Annual Trans March Brings Visibility as Taiwan’s Trans Rights Movement Gains Momentum and Draws Opposition

Yo-Ling Chen
Over 3,000 people gathered in Ximending this evening to participate in the fourth annual Taiwan Trans March organized by the Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ+) Hotline Association. This year’s march is the first in-person Trans March since the historic gains in Taiwan’s trans rights movement last fall. At the same time, trans-exclusionary radical feminists (TERFs) have also mobilized, almost exclusively online, against the trans rights movement in Taiwan. As trans issues continue to enter into public discourse and legal reform proceeds at its own pace, visibility and support for Taiwan’s trans community has never been more crucial...
EnglishGender/SexualityOctober 2022Social Movements10 min read

Will There Continue to be Stalling on Adoption Rights For Gay Couples?

Brian Hioe
Changes to Article 20 of the Act for the Judicial Yuan’s Implementation of Constitutional Interpretation No. 748 cleared review by the Judiciary and Organic Laws and Statutes Committee of the Legislative Yuan late last month. The proposed amendment would allow for joint adoption of the adopted child of one member of the couple. Current laws only allow for an individual to adopt the biological child of their partner...
EnglishGender/SexualityJune 2022Social Movements5 min read

Ruling on Gay Adoption Case Sets Precedent, But Does Not Change Overall Laws

Brian Hioe
The Kaohsiung Juvenile and Family Court made a historic ruling last month, allowing a gay couple to adopt a child that neither of the two is biologically related to. At the same time, the ruling is case-specific, only applies to that couple, and does not overturn current laws in Taiwan, which only allow gay couples to jointly adopt if the child is the biological child of one of the couple...
December 2021EnglishGender/SexualitySocial Movements6 min read