Gender rights activists congregated outside a conference on sexual violence yesterday to protest against the rule that people must undergo gender reassignment surgery to officially change their gender on identity cards. The activists said the rule was a form of sexual violence.
Holding a giant banner that read: “Gender is a right, stop forced gender reassignment surgery,” gender rights activists rallied outside the conference in New Taipei City’s (新北市) Sindian District (新店), which was organized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
“The legal requirement that one must have surgery to officially change his or her gender doesn’t do any good, but can only harm the person wanting to change their gender,” said Abbygail Wu (吳伊婷), a member of the Intersex, Transsexual and Transgender People Care Association. “It is essentially a forcible removal of one’s reproductive organs and ability, and it is the person who has to shoulder all the risks of an operation.”
Photo: Hsieh Wen-hua, Taipei Times
“This is basically a form of violence — and cruel and unusual punishment — imposed on a group of people by the government,” she added.
Wu added that the government also requires a decision on gender to be made for a child born with both male and female reproductive organs.
“What if the gender decision that the parents make is wrong?” she said.
Jiyi Ng (吳芷儀), another member of the association and also Wu’s spouse, said that in response to their prior petition on the issue, ministry officials said that relevant medical professionals could not reach a “consensus” on abolishing the requirement during a meeting.
“Well, there was no consensus either when the requirement was made,” she said. “Not to mention that the requirement is merely an executive order, not a law, and if the ministry really wants to abolish it, it can be done today with an official notice.”
Wu said that nearly 20 countries — including South Korea, Australia, South Africa, Germany, Spain, the UK and Argentina — do not require such surgery for gender change.
“Taiwan should follow their example,” she said.
STAY AWAY: An official said people should avoid disturbing snakes, as most do not actively attack humans, but would react defensively if threatened Taitung County authorities yesterday urged the public to stay vigilant and avoid disturbing snakes in the wild, following five reported snakebite cases in the county so far this year. Taitung County Fire Department secretary Lin Chien-cheng (林建誠) said two of the cases were in Donghe Township (東河) and involved the Taiwan habus, one person was bit by a Chinese pit viper near the South Link Railway and the remaining two were caused by unidentified snakes. He advised residents near fields to be cautious of snakes hiding in shady indoor areas, especially when entering or leaving their homes at night. In case of a
A tropical disturbance off the southeastern coast of the Philippines might become the first typhoon of the western Pacific typhoon season, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The system lacks a visible center and how it would develop is only likely to become clear on Sunday or Monday, the CWA said, adding that it was not yet possible to forecast the potential typhoon's effect on Taiwan. The American Meteorological Society defines a tropical disturbance as a system made up of showers and thunderstorms that lasts for at least 24 hours and does not have closed wind circulation.
ENERGY RESILIENCE: Although Alaska is open for investments, Taiwan is sourcing its gas from the Middle East, and the sea routes carry risks, Ho Cheng-hui said US government officials’ high-profile reception of a Taiwanese representative at the Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference indicated the emergence of an Indo-Pacific energy resilience alliance, an academic said. Presidential Office Secretary-General Pan Men-an (潘孟安) attended the conference in Alaska on Thursday last week at the invitation of the US government. Pan visited oil and gas facilities with senior US officials, including US Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum, US Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy and US Senator Daniel Sullivan. Pan attending the conference on behalf of President William Lai (賴清德) shows a significant elevation in diplomatic representation,
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
RSS