People who wish to legally change their registered gender will soon no longer be required to undergo surgery before applying, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday, marking a long-awaited victory for transgender rights advocates.
The ministry said it would soon terminate a controversial administrative order issued in 2008 that requires the surgical removal of gender-specific organs, as well as assessments from two psychiatrists, before a person is allowed to apply for gender reassignment.
Future applications for gender reassignment will be processed by a special committee that will include specialists on gender issues, psychiatrists and transgender representatives, long-time political activist Shih Ming-te (施明德) said yesterday at a news conference organized by transgender advocacy groups.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
According to the ministry’s current plans, applicants would be allowed to change their registered gender after they receive approval from the committee and wait through a required “hesitation period” of six months, Shih said, adding that applicants have to be over 18 years old.
Transgender rights advocates have long argued that a person’s gender should be based on self-identification rather than proof of surgery, and that the “inhumane” surgery requirement has forced many transgender people to undergo cheap, unsafe surgeries that have led to lasting injuries.
Led by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中), a motion demanding that the ministry abolish the administrative order received bipartisan support at the legislature’s plenary session on Tuesday.
Ting said that forcing transgender people to surgically remove their reproductive organs is a violation of human rights.
In response, the interior ministry promised to abolish the order within one month, adding that it would formulate alternative criteria for gender reassignment applications with the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
An 18-year-old transgender activist known as Miss Wu (吳小姐), who was born male, but identifies as a transgender woman, said that transgender people encounter numerous difficulties as a result of their registered gender being different from the one they identify with.
“This is a very good Christmas present for me,” she said.
Other transgender activists have cited difficulties in applying for dormitory places or employment opportunities, as well as ridicule from others because of their choices in clothing and self-expression.
The reform signals a major step forward in better protecting the rights of transgender people, the Intersex, Transgender and Transsexual People Care Association said in a statement.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
RSS