Despite efforts by local women's rights groups to promote the decriminalization of adultery in Taiwan, 79 percent of respondents to a survey released yesterday disapprove of the idea and believe that adultery should remain subject to criminal penalties.
In the case of a husband having an extra-marital relationship, 43 percent of the respondents said that the married man who broke his marriage vows, rather than his mistress, should be punished.
Officials at the National Union of Taiwan Women's Associations, a co-organizer of the survey, noted that the results were in contradiction to the present situation, in which most wives opt to sue their husbands' mistresses, but not their husbands, in adultery cases.
The survey was conducted by the union in cooperation with the Constitutional Reform Alliance from March 23 to April 15 among 6,439 people, with women accounting for 60 percent of respondents and men making up the other 40 percent.
In the case of a woman engaging in a sex trade with a married man, approximately 60 percent of the respondents said both parties should be punished.
Seventy-six percent of the respondents did not think that sex should be traded and less than 10 percent of the respondents supported the idea of publicizing the names of those caught patronizing prostitutes.
On the issue of whether children should be allowed to take their maternal surnames, 59 percent of the respondents believed children should have the right to decide for themselves when they reach adulthood, and 97 percent thought maternal surnames should be allowed under certain conditions.
On the applicability of artificial reproduction for single women, 41 percent of the respondents said the women concerned should have the right to decide for themselves, and 26 percent said they should be allowed to use the technology after obtaining the consent of their partners.
Homosexual relationships were acceptable to 75 percent of the respondents, with 25 percent opposing same-sex marriage.
Meanwhile, women's rights activists expressed doubts over the practicality of the government's plan to provide subsidies to female workers on unpaid maternity leave when pregnancy discrimination remains a common problem in the workplace in Taiwan.
In a bid to boost the country's fertility rate, the Council of Labor Affairs unveiled early this week a plan to provide a monthly subsidy of NT$13,500 (US$430) for up to six months to female workers on unpaid childcare leave. The program is expected to be put into force at the end of this year at the earliest.
Officials at the Awakening Foundation said that although the Gender Equality Employment Law (兩性工作平等法) forbade employers from dismissing workers on the basis of pregnancy, childbirth or childcare, the Taipei City government received 103 complaints related to pregnancy discrimination between October 1995 and November 2003.
While the law allowed workers to take leave without pay for up to one year to take care of their babies, only workers at 24.5 percent of local businesses have asked for the leave, they said.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
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