Former police officer Yeh Chi-yuan (葉繼元) on Thursday said that the National Police Agency (NPA) unlawfully sacked him and breached the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別工作平等法) when it fired him for having long hair.
The NPA’s Second Special Police Corps sacked Yeh on Wednesday, after its disciplinary committee tallied Yeh’s performance as having numerous reprimands, which he incurred by refusing to cut his long hair.
Yeh said that although he is biologically male, he does not identify with either gender and firing him for not meeting the male-specific grooming standard is discriminatory.
Photo: Yao Yueh-hung, Taipei Times
Yeh held a press conference, accompanied by his attorney Kuo Te-tien (郭德田) and representatives from the Taiwan Police Union, the National Association for Firefighters’ Rights and Gender/Sexuality Rights Association Taiwan.
Having long hair makes him feel “safe” and gives him “a sense of comfort and well-being,” Yeh said, adding that his superiors at the corps gave him reprimands out of their desire to punish him for demanding changes to grooming standards.
According to records provided to CNA, Yeh was reprimanded a total of 36 times for grooming standards in 2013 and last year, receiving a “C” rating for his yearly performance despite having 19 commendations, while he received 20 reprimands for the same offense between February and June.
The corps ignored an internal communique filed in late August by the NPA, Kuo said.
“This agency finds it inappropriate to subject police officer Yeh to saturation reprimands on grounds that he breached police officers’ grooming standards stipulated in the Code of Conduct for Police Personnel (警察人員獎懲標準),” Kuo quoted the NPA document as saying.
It was “deeply disappointing” that the disciplinary committee took only 10 minutes to reach a decision in his case and that the panel refused to confront his questions about gender equality during the hearing, Yeh said.
The Taiwan Police Union issued a statement that said: “The Gender Equality in Employment Act demands that no discrimination against the gender or sexuality of employees should be exercised by employers... As a public institution, the NPA should be vigilant in adhering to the law, instead of leading the charge in violating it.”
A poll conducted by Yahoo-Kimo, Yahoo’s Taiwan unit, showed that 66.8 percent of respondents favored allowing police officers to have long hair, with 28.9 percent opposing the practice.
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
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