Two groups yesterday called for greater understanding of LGBT people in response to comments made by former Miaoli County commissioner Liu Cheng-hung (劉政鴻).
Speaking at a campaign event earlier yesterday for Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Hsu Chih-jung (徐志榮), Liu said he is “very worried” that one day he would have to ask his son: “Are you marrying a man or a woman?”
The surname on his family’s ancestral tablet is Liu, he said, asking: “In the future, would it be changed?”
Photo: Copy by Cheng Ming-hsiang, Taipei Times
“President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), it is fine if you do not want to get married,” he said.
“Do not jeopardize so many people,” he added.
Commenting on Liu’s remarks, Garden of Hope Foundation chief executive officer Chi Hui-jung (紀惠容) said that gender should not be binary.
Gender qualities, gender identity and sexual orientation are all diverse, she said, adding that the choice of each individual regarding their gender is a human right.
Under the traditional gender binary, many children are excluded by society, Chi said, adding that not only do they struggle in life, but they could also be bullied.
If parents cannot accept the gender identity of their children, those children become even less confident, she said.
Gender education was only introduced in the past few years, Chi said.
As a result, it is easy for children to accept LGBT groups, but difficult for older people to do the same, she said.
She urges parents to “relax” and proceed from a point of love for their children, and understand and accept them, Chi said.
LGBT people existed before same-sex marriage was legalized, Equal Love Taiwan public relations manager Lee Cheng-han (李政翰) said.
Politicians should not use gender issues to “smear” or criticize candidates ahead of the elections, he said.
Many people in society still do not understand LGBT people, but listen to and believe false information, and misunderstand gender equality education, he said.
If parents have questions about these issues or the content in elementary school textbooks, they can consult the Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ) Hotline Association or Equal Love Taiwan, he said.
KMT Culture and Communications Committee director-general Cheng Mei-hua (程美華) said that the party respects everyone’s opinions on the matter.
Additional reporting by Lin Liang-sheng
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai