A group of mass communications students from Chinese Culture Universtiy yesterday voiced their support for Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) gender policy, saying that they plan to launch an online petition endorsing Tsai’s gender policy platform to encourage Taiwan to implement policies protecting gay rights.
The students spoke out after Tsai recently announced her gender policy platform, which aims to “promote respect for the rights of people with different gender orientations, to enhance public awareness on gender diversity, to enhance the understanding of government workers on gender diversity” as well as revising laws that are discriminatory to people with non-mainstream gender orientations.
Voicing their support for Tsai’s gender policy agenda, the students urged the public to pay attention to the rights of gay people.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
At the press conference yesterday, one of the students dressed up as Lady Gaga — who is an advocate for gay rights — and danced to her hit song Born This Way.
Convener of the student group Tsai Yu-hui (蔡語慧) said she thinks Tsai Ing-wen is very brave to raise gay-friendly policies before the election, since not many politicians would be willing to do so.
A student surnamed Kuo (郭) said that while President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), who is seeking re-election, and Tsai Ing-wen have both previously been questioned about their sexual orientation, only Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP have seriously faced the issue and are more accepting of gender diversity.
Ma, on the other hand, has not done anything concrete to promote gay rights, Kuo said, adding that Minister of Education Wu Ching-ji (吳清基) recently halted a plan to implement a school curriculum on the gay issue based on there being “no social consensus.”
While agreeing with Tsai Ing-wen’s ideas, Tsai Yu-hui said the students hope Tsai Ing-wen will clarify how the DPP plans to meet its gender policy aims.
The group suggested that some concrete measures should include allowing gay marriage, protecting gays’ right to work and implementing a gay-friendly curriculum on campus.
DPP Taipei City Councilor Ho Chi-wei (何志偉), who is also the deputy executive director of Tsai Ing-wen’s Taipei City campaign office, said the DPP has long stood beside disadvantaged groups and promised the DPP would reveal more detailed plans on promoting gay rights in a policy white paper to be released prior to January’s presidential election.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
RSS