The Humanistic Education Foundation on Wednesday said that Chang Gung University was forcing a transgender student who identifies as female to live in a male dormitory and protecting a military instructor accused of verbal harassment.
The student, identified by the pseudonym Siao Wen (小雯), provided documents regarding gender reassignment, foundation executive director Joanna Feng (馮喬蘭) said at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei.
However, the university insisted that Siao Wen reside in the male dormitory.
“Siao Wen lived in a state of fear for her safety, causing significant psychological distress,” Feng said.
“When Siao Wen appealed to the dean of students at a school meeting, the university’s chief military instructor publicly humiliated her with a tirade that the university’s own gender equality commission later found to constitute gender-based discriminatory speech,” Feng said.
A man identified as the instructor on an audio recording played at the conference denied the existence of transgenderism and repeatedly said that Siao Wen should identify as a male.
Despite the commission’s finding, the university took no action against the instructor apart from eight hours of gender-equality education, Feng said, adding that the experience has traumatized Siao Wen.
“A military instructor capable of saying things like this is unsuited to be in an education environment and he should be asked to leave,” Feng said.
“All transgender women want is the right to be treated as ordinary women and the right to live ordinary lives,” Siao Wen said.
“How many transgender students have to drop out of university before the Ministry of Education addresses the situation? How many transgender people have to die before our basic rights are respected?” Siao Wen said.
Huang Lan-hsiu (黃蘭琇), an official at the ministry’s Department of Student Affairs and Special Education, said that no student deserves such treatment, regardless of their gender or sexual orientation.
The ministry’s policy forbids universities from practicing gender-based discrimination or subjecting students to unfair treatment, Huang said, adding that the department would prioritize resolving the situation.
University vice president Chen Jan-kan (陳君侃) said the university had tried to place Siao Wen in special accommodation with a private washroom on the first floor of the women’s dormitory, but Siao Wen demanded to live with other female students.
At the university’s gender equality commission hearing, female student representatives said they do not want to live with Siao Wen and said the school should consider the feelings of their parents, Chen said.
The university rejected Siao Wen’s medical documents, Chen said, without elaborating.
The school has complied with the government’s guidelines on gender equality and respects its students’ gender identity, Chen said.
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The New Taipei City Art Museum this weekend plans to celebrate its first anniversary with a two-day extravaganza featuring live concerts and a large-scale synchronized fireworks and drone display, the New Taipei City Cultural Affairs Department said. The two-day celebrations are to take place in the museum’s outdoor park, with markets and live performances by singers including Ann Bai (白安), Bii (畢書盡) and the Cosmos People (宇宙人), the department said. The highlight on both evenings would be the "Echoes of Light" show, an aerial spectacle combining fireworks and drone performances designed around the concept of "dual stages in the sky," it
RSS