A committee of human rights academics completed the second round of the international review of Taiwan’s implemetation of two UN covenants last month. They made 78 recommendations, including a few that may seem like a slap in the face to some Tawiwanese, especially conservative Christians, who aggressively oppose the equal rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people.
First, the committee, which looked at the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Convenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, expressed concern over Taiwan’s sex education at all school levels, saying that it is “not comprehensive enough.”
DIVERSE SEX EDUCATION
The committee strongly recommended a more diverse sex education curriculum that is “comprehensive, scientifically accurate and up-to-date, engaging various stakeholders for consultation.”
This “diversity” has been strongly opposed by the Alliance of Taiwan Religious Groups for the Protection of the Family (or “Family Alliance,” 護家盟) and a handful of Christian groups in recent years, as they continue to pressure the government to exclude the topic of homosexuality from sex education, claiming that such content will encourage their children to have sex or turn them gay.
The committee also welcomed the government’s effort to combat homophobia and raise awareness for gender diversity, and praised the initiatives aimed at introducing same-sex marriage into domestic law.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
“The full realization of these legislative changes would be a manifestation of Taiwan as a pioneer in the Asia-Pacific region, in combating discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity,” it stated.
A HISTORICAL DEBATE
Perhaps encouraged by the committee’s conclusions, for the first time in Taiwan’s history, the Council of Grand Justices agreed to have a debate to address two requests for a constitutional interpretation on the issue of same-sex marriage next month.
The two requests were filed respectively by the Taipei City Government and gay rights pioneer Chi Chia-wei (祁家威) — who first filed a similar case 31 years ago in 1986 that was denied by the court. In an unprecedented move, the council will broadcast the historical debate live, and Taipei Watcher will be watching closely.
To no surprise, this immediately triggered outrage from anti-LGBT groups, such as the Happiness of the Next Generation Alliance (or “Happiness Alliance,” 幸福盟).
In a statement titled “Children should not become guinea pigs under political correctness,” the alliance reiterated their desire to protect the “traditional family structure” and called out the grand justices, stating that they should never sacrifice children’s well-being for adults’ sexual desires.
WRONG AGAIN
In the same statement, the alliance called for the government to “give the power back to the public and make the decision through a referendum,” which once again contradicts the recommendations made by the International Review Committee. During the first round of the international review in 2013, the academics were particularly concerned over the government using public surveys to decide whether to support marriage equality.
“The government has an obligation to fulfill the human rights of all people, and not make such fulfillment contingent on public opinion,” the academics stated.
The two covenants were adopted in 2009 during former vice-president Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) term as premier, which is deeply ironic as Wu recently expressed his opposition to the legalization of same-sex marriage in an interview.
“We should not amend the law for a very small minority of people, and the government must put the brakes on this legislation,” Wu said in public while campaigning for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairmanship. Some KMT officials even echoed him by calling on the party to expel gay-friendly KMT Legislator Jason Hsu (許毓仁), who proposed a marriage equality draft bill last year.
If the KMT and certain religious groups keep trampling on the two covenants and LGBT people’s human rights like this, they will continue to distance themselves from the majority public opinion.
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