Pride Month has officially begun in Taipei, with weeks of activities and events that are to culminate in Asia’s largest annual Pride parade on Oct. 26.
Every October offers a chance to celebrate Taiwan’s commendable progress in LGBTQ+ rights and for the community to express its joy. However, it is also an opportunity to take stock of areas that still need improvement and remember that the road to equality is a long one, arduously paved by the activists who strive year-round to earn Taiwan its reputation as the most LGBT-friendly place in Asia.
This year saw wins and losses in the fight to allow transgender people to change their official gender. In May, a trans man for the first time won the right to change his designation without undergoing gender confirmation surgery after the Taipei High Administrative Court ruled in his favor. It followed a similar ruling in 2021 that gave a trans woman the right to change her legal gender without surgery.
However, another ruling by the same court in August rejected a bid by a trans woman to change her legal gender without an official diagnosis of gender dysphoria, although it also ordered her household registration office to review the application again. Instead of a medical diagnosis, the plaintiff had submitted “social evidence,” including letters and photographs to prove she was living as a woman. While not unexpected, it shows that the courts still consider gender to be a medical issue framed as a type of “dysphoria,” even if it no longer mandates surgical intervention, thereby stigmatizing diverse gender expression as an illness.
Cross-strait couples also had reason for celebration last month, when the Ministry of the Interior and Mainland Affairs Council announced that they can register their marriages in Taiwan. The law passed in 2019 legalizing same-sex marriage let cross-national couples fall through the cracks, and due to the already complicated nature of cross-strait relations, Taiwanese-Chinese couples have continued to be left out. However, after last month’s decision, these couples can submit a marriage certificate from one of the 35 countries that recognize same-sex marriage and, after submitting their documents and sitting for an interview, register their marriage in Taiwan.
The issues of surrogacy and assisted reproduction have also taken center stage this year, when the Ministry of Health and Welfare in May released draft amendments to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法). The long-overdue changes seek to provide access to assisted reproduction care for single women and lesbian couples, who are barred from receiving treatments by the act that defines a recipient couple as “a husband and wife.” It would also legalize altruistic surrogacy, which has significant implications for gay couples who want to start a family and prefer to do so through surrogacy rather than adoption.
However, the act and amendment alike have received ample criticism for legislating assisted reproduction alongside surrogacy, which comes with a more contentious set of legal and ethical questions. Advocates fear that the more controversial aspects of legalizing surrogacy could stymie the amendment’s passage, thereby also stalling the right to access assisted reproduction technologies by single women and lesbian couples for which there is widespread support.
The comment period ended in July and the ministry hopes to forward the final draft to the Executive Yuan for approval by the end of the year, but with the criticism continuing unabated, it might take far longer — especially as it would next need to make it through a deeply divided legislature.
LGBTQ+ rights continue to march forward in Taiwan. People in the queer community, the many activists who continue to push for LGBTQ+ rights, and allies in Taiwan and those from abroad this month have a lot to celebrate, as well as a lot more work to do.
Taiwan faces complex challenges like other Asia-Pacific nations, including demographic decline, income inequality and climate change. In fact, its challenges might be even more pressing. The nation struggles with rising income inequality, declining birthrates and soaring housing costs while simultaneously navigating intensifying global competition among major powers. To remain competitive in the global talent market, Taiwan has been working to create a more welcoming environment and legal framework for foreign professionals. One of the most significant steps in this direction was the enactment of the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) in 2018. Subsequent amendments in
US President Donald Trump on Saturday signed orders to impose tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China effective from today. Trump decided to slap 25 percent tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada as well as 10 percent on those coming from China, but would only impose a 10 percent tariff on Canadian energy products, including oil and electricity. Canada and Mexico on Sunday quickly responded with retaliatory tariffs against the US, while countermeasures from China are expected soon. Nevertheless, Trump announced yesterday to delay tariffs on Mexico and Canada for a month and said he would hold further talks with
The recent passing of Taiwanese actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛), known to many as “Big S,” due to influenza-induced pneumonia at just 48 years old is a devastating reminder that the flu is not just a seasonal nuisance — it is a serious and potentially fatal illness. Hsu, a beloved actress and cultural icon who shaped the memories of many growing up in Taiwan, should not have died from a preventable disease. Yet her death is part of a larger trend that Taiwan has ignored for too long — our collective underestimation of the flu and our low uptake of the
Taiwan’s undersea cables connecting it to the world were allegedly severed several times by a Chinese ship registered under a flag of convenience. As the vessel sailed, it used several different automatic identification systems (AIS) to create fake routes. That type of “shadow fleet” and “gray zone” tactics could create a security crisis in Taiwan and warrants response measures. The concept of a shadow fleet originates from the research of Elisabeth Braw, senior fellow at the Washington-based Atlantic Council. The phenomenon was initiated by authoritarian countries such as Iran, North Korea and Russia, which have been hit by international economic