During a political talk show on Oct. 19, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Central Standing Committee member and Tainan City Councilor Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) used the words “ass-shake diplomacy” to criticize Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) as “a woman’s liaison with China” and her trip to Beijing as “ass-shaking.”
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Taipei City Councilor Hsu Chia-ching (徐佳青), who was also a guest on the talk show, protested against these inappropriate comments, but Hsieh did not stop his verbal attacks and said even nastier things on the nationally broadcast program.
The Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women’s Rights (TAPWR) believes that verbal abuse referring to differences in physiology and gender highlights a misconception about gender that has long existed in Taiwan. This is based on the mistaken belief that verbal abuse does not constitute violence, as well as confusion between formal and substantive equality.
Violence is loathsome and terrifying not only because of the direct effects physical violence has on life and health, but also because it represents the power to control and endanger the freedom of its victims, their safety, existence and further development. Verbal abuse in essence represents the exact same deprivation of rights and psychological oppression that physical violence does.
Comments like “ass-shake diplomacy” emphasize the bodily characteristics of a certain individual or group to dismiss their positive qualities and the unique skills they employ in their social roles, as well as the public character that such roles should possess. Language that discriminates against gender by way of insults and denigration is an undeniable form of violence.
Hsieh’s comments were a clear attempt to use Chen’s physical characteristics as a woman to avoid commenting on her professional abilities as a politician or getting into a debate on public policy. This was not only an encroachment on Chen’s rights, but also dealt a blow to public deliberation on social policy issues.
In 2007, Taiwan ratified the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), a code for the protection of the rights of women. In its preamble, the CEDAW states: “Despite these various instruments, extensive discrimination against women continues to exist, recalling that discrimination against women violates the principles of equality of rights and respect for human dignity, is an obstacle to the participation of women, on equal terms with men, in the political, social, economic and cultural life of their countries, hampers the growth of the prosperity of society and the family and makes more difficult the full development of the potentialities of women in the service of their countries and of humanity.”
The TAPWR therefore calls for recognition of the fact that verbal abuse is an outward expression of gender discrimination and violence in the home. If we want to enjoy the right to liberty, security and freedom from fear, then we should demand that political parties and the legislature abide by CEDAW to stop discriminatory remarks based on a woman’s physicality or their private affairs and that a system be set up to deal with these issues. Moreover, this system should take precedence over party concerns and should not be compromised in return for superficial verbal apologies or tolerance for such behavior.
Cheng Kai-jung is deputy secretary-general of the Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women’s Rights. Lin Hsin-yeh is a consultant at the association.
TRANSLATED BY DREW CAMERON
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been expansionist and contemptuous of international law. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the CCP regime has become more despotic, coercive and punitive. As part of its strategy to annex Taiwan, Beijing has sought to erase the island democracy’s international identity by bribing countries to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei. One by one, China has peeled away Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners, leaving just 12 countries (mostly small developing states) and the Vatican recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taiwan’s formal international space has shrunk dramatically. Yet even as Beijing has scored diplomatic successes, its overreach
In her article in Foreign Affairs, “A Perfect Storm for Taiwan in 2026?,” Yun Sun (孫韻), director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said that the US has grown indifferent to Taiwan, contending that, since it has long been the fear of US intervention — and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) inability to prevail against US forces — that has deterred China from using force against Taiwan, this perceived indifference from the US could lead China to conclude that a window of opportunity for a Taiwan invasion has opened this year. Most notably, she observes that
For Taiwan, the ongoing US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets are a warning signal: When a major power stretches the boundaries of self-defense, smaller states feel the tremors first. Taiwan’s security rests on two pillars: US deterrence and the credibility of international law. The first deters coercion from China. The second legitimizes Taiwan’s place in the international community. One is material. The other is moral. Both are indispensable. Under the UN Charter, force is lawful only in response to an armed attack or with UN Security Council authorization. Even pre-emptive self-defense — long debated — requires a demonstrably imminent
Since being re-elected, US President Donald Trump has consistently taken concrete action to counter China and to safeguard the interests of the US and other democratic nations. The attacks on Iran, the earlier capture of deposed of Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro and efforts to remove Chinese influence from the Panama Canal all demonstrate that, as tensions with Beijing intensify, Washington has adopted a hardline stance aimed at weakening its power. Iran and Venezuela are important allies and major oil suppliers of China, and the US has effectively decapitated both. The US has continuously strengthened its military presence in the Philippines. Japanese Prime
RSS