Appeals by two transsexual men to bypass service in the military were granted by the Bureau of Military Service (兵役處) under the Taipei County (台北縣) government.
The two residents -- originally female by sex -- recently underwent transsexual surgeries to become men. After the surgeries, they applied to have their ID cards and certificates of residence changed to reflect their new sex. Soon after these changes were granted, they both received notice for military service.
They felt that although they had male physical characteristics, they were not psychologically prepared to live with other men in a setting like the military.
Diagnosed by the Veterans' General Hospital (榮民總醫院) as having "latent transsexual desire," they were spared from a series of physical and mental tests by the Bureau of Military Service and were granted permission to forego military service soon after their appeals.
This is not a first for the bureau. It has dealt with many similar cases, but in the past it has been mostly men who have undergone transsexual surgery to become women. The two cases were not as familiar.
Fang Jung-huang (方榮煌), a plastic surgeon at Veterans General Hospital, said as long as transsexual patients have detailed diagnoses report issued by professional doctors, they can apply to the Bureau for Military Service not to fulfill their conscription duties.
The hospital has performed transsexual surgery for more than 100 men to become women, while only 47 women have had surgery to become men.
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The final batch of 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks purchased from the US arrived at Taipei Port last night and were transported to the Armor Training Command in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), completing the military’s multi-year procurement of 108 of the tanks. Starting at 12:10am today, reporters observed more than a dozen civilian flatbed trailers departing from Taipei Port, each carrying an M1A2T tank covered with black waterproof tarps. Escorted by military vehicles, the convoy traveled via the West Coast Expressway to the Armor Training Command, with police implementing traffic control. The army operates about 1,000 tanks, including CM-11 Brave Tiger
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
PROVOCATIVE: Chinese Deputy Ambassador to the UN Sun Lei accused Japan of sending military vessels to deliberately provoke tensions in the Taiwan Strait China denounced remarks by Japan and the EU about the South China Sea at a UN Security Council meeting on Monday, and accused Tokyo of provocative behavior in the Taiwan Strait and planning military expansion. Ayano Kunimitsu, a Japanese vice foreign minister, told the Council meeting on maritime security that Tokyo was seriously concerned about the situation in the East China and South China seas, and reiterated Japan’s opposition to any attempt to change the “status quo” by force, and obstruction of freedom of navigation and overflight. Stavros Lambrinidis, head of the EU delegation to the UN, also highlighted South China Sea
RSS