A committee of human rights academics completed the second round of the international review of Taiwan’s implemetation of two UN covenants last month. They made 78 recommendations, including a few that may seem like a slap in the face to some Tawiwanese, especially conservative Christians, who aggressively oppose the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
First, the committee, which looked at the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, expressed concern over Taiwan’s sex education at all school levels, saying that it is “not comprehensive enough.”
DIVERSE SEX EDUCATION
The committee strongly recommended a more diverse sex education curriculum that is “comprehensive, scientifically accurate and up-to-date, engaging various stakeholders for consultation.”
This “diversity” has been strongly opposed by the Alliance of Taiwan Religious Groups for the Protection of the Family (or “Family Alliance,” 護家盟) and a handful of Christian groups in recent years, as they continue to pressure the government to exclude the topic of homosexuality from sex education, claiming that such content will encourage their children to have sex or turn them gay.
The committee also welcomed the government’s effort to combat homophobia and raise awareness for gender diversity, and praised the initiatives aimed at introducing same-sex marriage into domestic law.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“The full realization of these legislative changes would be a manifestation of Taiwan as a pioneer in the Asia-Pacific region, in combating discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,” it stated.
A HISTORICAL DEBATE
Perhaps encouraged by the committee’s conclusions, for the first time in Taiwan’s history, the Council of Grand Justices agreed to have a debate to address two requests for a constitutional interpretation on the issue of same-sex marriage next month.
The two requests were filed respectively by the Taipei City Government and gay rights pioneer Chi Chia-wei (祁家威) — who first filed a similar case 31 years ago in 1986 that was denied by the court. In an unprecedented move, the council will broadcast the historical debate live, and Taipei Watcher will be watching closely.
To no surprise, this immediately triggered outrage from anti-LGBT groups, such as the Happiness of the Next Generation Alliance (or “Happiness Alliance,” 幸福盟).
In a statement titled “Children should not become guinea pigs under political correctness,” the alliance reiterated their desire to protect the “traditional family structure” and called out the grand justices, stating that they should never sacrifice children’s well-being for adults’ sexual desires.
WRONG AGAIN
In the same statement, the alliance called for the government to “give the power back to the public and make the decision through a referendum,” which once again contradicts the recommendations made by the International Review Committee. During the first round of the international review in 2013, the academics were particularly concerned over the government using public surveys to decide whether to support marriage equality.
“The government has an obligation to fulfill the human rights of all people, and not make such fulfillment contingent on public opinion,” the academics stated.
The two covenants were adopted in 2009 during former vice-president Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) term as premier, which is deeply ironic as Wu recently expressed his opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage in an interview.
“We should not amend the law for a very small minority of people, and the government must put the brakes on this legislation,” Wu said in public while campaigning for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship. Some KMT officials even echoed him by calling on the party to expel gay-friendly KMT Legislator Jason Hsu (許毓仁), who proposed a marriage equality draft bill last year.
If the KMT and certain religious groups keep trampling on the two covenants and LGBT people’s human rights like this, they will continue to distance themselves from the majority public opinion.
In late October of 1873 the government of Japan decided against sending a military expedition to Korea to force that nation to open trade relations. Across the government supporters of the expedition resigned immediately. The spectacle of revolt by disaffected samurai began to loom over Japanese politics. In January of 1874 disaffected samurai attacked a senior minister in Tokyo. A month later, a group of pro-Korea expedition and anti-foreign elements from Saga prefecture in Kyushu revolted, driven in part by high food prices stemming from poor harvests. Their leader, according to Edward Drea’s classic Japan’s Imperial Army, was a samurai
Located down a sideroad in old Wanhua District (萬華區), Waley Art (水谷藝術) has an established reputation for curating some of the more provocative indie art exhibitions in Taipei. And this month is no exception. Beyond the innocuous facade of a shophouse, the full three stories of the gallery space (including the basement) have been taken over by photographs, installation videos and abstract images courtesy of two creatives who hail from the opposite ends of the earth, Taiwan’s Hsu Yi-ting (許懿婷) and Germany’s Benjamin Janzen. “In 2019, I had an art residency in Europe,” Hsu says. “I met Benjamin in the lobby
April 22 to April 28 The true identity of the mastermind behind the Demon Gang (魔鬼黨) was undoubtedly on the minds of countless schoolchildren in late 1958. In the days leading up to the big reveal, more than 10,000 guesses were sent to Ta Hwa Publishing Co (大華文化社) for a chance to win prizes. The smash success of the comic series Great Battle Against the Demon Gang (大戰魔鬼黨) came as a surprise to author Yeh Hung-chia (葉宏甲), who had long given up on his dream after being jailed for 10 months in 1947 over political cartoons. Protagonist
A fossil jawbone found by a British girl and her father on a beach in Somerset, England belongs to a gigantic marine reptile dating to 202 million years ago that appears to have been among the largest animals ever on Earth. Researchers said on Wednesday the bone, called a surangular, was from a type of ocean-going reptile called an ichthyosaur. Based on its dimensions compared to the same bone in closely related ichthyosaurs, the researchers estimated that the Triassic Period creature, which they named Ichthyotitan severnensis, was between 22-26 meters long. That would make it perhaps the largest-known marine reptile and would