The Constitutional Court yesterday struck down a rule requiring female firefighters to be at least 1.6m tall, saying that it contravened the Constitution.
Rules governing the civil service entrance examination for police and firefighters stipulate a height requirement of 1.65m for men and 1.6m for women, or 1.58m and 1.55m respectively for indigenous male and female candidates.
In 2018, a woman surnamed Chen (陳) passed the certification test for firefighters, but was eliminated from the program after a second physical exam showed her to be 1.1cm short of the height requirement.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
She filed an administrative appeal and after it was dismissed, asked the Constitutional Court to rule on the matter, arguing that the height requirement and being told to take a second physical examination contravened her rights.
Chen’s attorney during oral arguments on Jan. 16 said that the height limits have no scientific basis and deprived the plaintiff of her right to join the civil service.
The second physical exam ordered by Chen’s instructors at the academy stemmed from the provision of the regulation allowing such tests to be taken again “for cause,” a broad and vague phrase that infringes on the principle of legal clarity, her attorney said.
Lawyers representing the Ministry of Examination and the Ministry of the Interior said that the height requirement was to help ensure police and firefighters are physically capable of performing their duties and can use standard-issue equipment.
National Fire Agency Director-General Hsiao Huan-chang (蕭煥章) told the court that firefighters are expected to meet physical standards to minimize operational risks and that short people are not suitable for the job.
Indigenous candidates have separate height standards because they are shorter on average than other Taiwanese, Hsiao said, adding that using a common standard could be racially discriminatory.
However, the court said that the height limits would exclude female candidates from becoming first responders more often than it would males, contravening the equal protection principle in Article 8 of the Constitution.
The height requirement must be removed within a year of the judgement, it said.
The other part of the lawsuit concerning the rule authorizing government departments to order a second physical exam for cause was dismissed, as the court did not find the meaning of “cause” to be unclear.
Chen said that she wanted to become a firefighter to help people such as her ill mother, adding that she was dumbstruck that she could be barred from joining the service due to her height.
CHIPMAKING INVESTMENT: J.W. Kuo told legislators that Department of Investment Review approval would be needed were Washington to seek a TSMC board seat Minister of Economic Affairs J.W. Kuo (郭智輝) yesterday said he received information about a possible US government investment in Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and an assessment of the possible effect on the firm requires further discussion. If the US were to invest in TSMC, the plan would need to be reviewed by the Department of Investment Review, Kuo told reporters ahead of a hearing of the legislature’s Economics Committee. Kuo’s remarks came after US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Tuesday said that the US government is looking into the federal government taking equity stakes in computer chip manufacturers that
NORTHERN STRIKE: Taiwanese military personnel have been training ‘in strategic and tactical battle operations’ in Michigan, a former US diplomat said More than 500 Taiwanese troops participated in this year’s Northern Strike military exercise held at Lake Michigan by the US, a Pentagon-run news outlet reported yesterday. The Michigan National Guard-sponsored drill involved 7,500 military personnel from 36 nations and territories around the world, the Stars and Stripes said. This year’s edition of Northern Strike, which concluded on Sunday, simulated a war in the Indo-Pacific region in a departure from its traditional European focus, it said. The change indicated a greater shift in the US armed forces’ attention to a potential conflict in Asia, it added. Citing a briefing by a Michigan National Guard senior
POWER PLANT POLL: The TPP said the number of ‘yes’ votes showed that the energy policy should be corrected, and the KMT said the result was a win for the people’s voice The government does not rule out advanced nuclear energy generation if it meets the government’s three prerequisites, President William Lai (賴清德) said last night after the number of votes in favor of restarting a nuclear power plant outnumbered the “no” votes in a referendum yesterday. The referendum failed to pass, despite getting more “yes” votes, as the Referendum Act (公民投票法) states that the vote would only pass if the votes in favor account for more than one-fourth of the total number of eligible voters and outnumber the opposing votes. Yesterday’s referendum question was: “Do you agree that the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant
ENHANCED SECURITY: A Japanese report said that the MOU is about the sharing of information on foreign nationals entering Japan from Taiwan in the event of an emergency The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday confirmed that Taiwan and Japan had signed an agreement to promote information exchanges and cooperation on border management, although it did not disclose more details on the pact. Ministry spokesman Hsiao Kuang-wei (蕭光偉) said the ministry is happy to see that the two nations continue to enhance cooperation on immigration control, in particular because Taiwan and Japan “share a deep friendship and frequent people-to-people exchanges.” “Last year, more than 7.32 million visits were made between the two countries, making it even more crucial for both sides to work closer on immigration and border control,” he said. Hsiao