Transgender rights activists yesterday said that reforms on gender reassignment regulations might require legislative action, amid speculation that current reforms aimed at revising an administrative order issued by the Ministry of the Interior will not succeed.
Prospects are unclear on whether the ministry would finalize its decision by Sunday — as promised by Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) last month — following furious opposition from transgender activists over a new draft proposed by the ministry last week.
The controversial draft would bar married applicants or those with children from changing their registered gender and would limit gender reassignment to once in a lifetime.
Transgender and transsexual activists said the rules infringed on the rights of many middle-aged people who wish to legally change their gender despite having gone through marriage or having children.
TG Butterfly Garden spokesperson Quinton Kao (高旭寬), a female-to-male transsexual, said that suggestions to adopt a legislative path were made during a meeting at the ministry on Friday.
He said that it was “highly unlikely” that the issue would be resolved by its proposed deadline on Sunday, adding that a legislative path could take several years.
Household Registration deputy director Jair Lan-pin (翟蘭萍) said the ministry is still compiling the suggestions of different government agencies on the issue and is set to receive their written reports by tomorrow.
She said that a legislative path toward reform on gender reassignment regulations was “an option.”
On Dec. 25, the ministry agreed to terminate a controversial requirement for the surgical removal of gender-specific organs before a person can apply for gender reassignment, and promised to devise new regulations within one month.
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
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book
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