The Gender Sexuality Rights Association (
The association's secretary-general, Wang Ping (
The recent string of incidents targeting female politicians -- be it verbal violence or privacy infringement -- have seriously defiled these women's right to enjoy their sex life and the right to keep their sexual activity private, Wang said.
"These incidents also demonstrate that the rights of women to political participation have been undermined due to a breach of their right to engage in sex," Wang added.
Josephine Ho (何春蕤), an advisor to the association and also coordinator of the Center for the Study of Sexuality at National Central University (中央大學), shared the same view.
The right to sex means unmarried female politicians should not have to face public doubts or questioning over their single status, Ho argued.
"Adultery is not necessarily tantamount to a moral deficiency and should be decriminalized since those acts should not have been criminalized in the first place," Ho said.
Adults' sexual relations that occur on the basis of mutual consent -- such as adultery and working in the sex trade -- should be respected and not viewed as criminal in nature.
As a result, "using the word `prostitute' to insult a woman simply denigrates sex workers," she added.
Wang Fang-ping (
She said that DPP lawmaker Lin Chung-mo (林重謨) was out of line to call independent legislator-elect Sisy Chen (陳文茜) a prostitute.
Wang, who has long championed the rights of sex workers, said "Sex workers are not the shameless women that Lin thinks they are. Their profession should be legalized and they should not have to bear a social stigma"
Commenting on the recent Scoop Weekly case -- in which the magazine distributed VCDs allegedly featuring a female former politician's sexual encounter with a married man -- all of the women's rights activists present expressed their utmost support for the victim and called for the decriminalization of adultery.
Even Vice President Annette Lu's (呂秀蓮) single status has been the subject of jokes, Ho said, adding that society must end discrimination against unmarried women.
INSURRECTION: The NSB said it found evidence the CCP was seeking snipers in Taiwan to target members of the military and foreign organizations in the event of an invasion The number of Chinese spies prosecuted in Taiwan has grown threefold over a four-year period, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said in a report released yesterday. In 2021 and 2022, 16 and 10 spies were prosecuted respectively, but that number grew to 64 last year, it said, adding that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was working with gangs in Taiwan to develop a network of armed spies. Spies in Taiwan have on behalf of the CCP used a variety of channels and methods to infiltrate all sectors of the country, and recruited Taiwanese to cooperate in developing organizations and obtaining sensitive information
BREAKTHROUGH: The US is making chips on par in yield and quality with Taiwan, despite people saying that it could not happen, the official said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has begun producing advanced 4-nanometer (nm) chips for US customers in Arizona, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said, a milestone in the semiconductor efforts of the administration of US President Joe Biden. In November last year, the commerce department finalized a US$6.6 billion grant to TSMC’s US unit for semiconductor production in Phoenix, Arizona. “For the first time ever in our country’s history, we are making leading edge 4-nanometer chips on American soil, American workers — on par in yield and quality with Taiwan,” Raimondo said, adding that production had begun in recent
Seven hundred and sixty-four foreigners were arrested last year for acting as money mules for criminals, with many entering Taiwan on a tourist visa for all-expenses-paid trips, the Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said on Saturday. Although from Jan. 1 to Dec. 26 last year, 26,478 people were arrested for working as money mules, the bureau said it was particularly concerned about those entering the country as tourists or migrant workers who help criminals and scammers pick up or transfer illegally obtained money. In a report, officials divided the money mules into two groups, the first of which are foreigners, mainly from Malaysia
SILICON VALLEY HUB: The office would showcase Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, and help Taiwanese start-ups connect with global opportunities Taiwan has established an office in Palo Alto, one of the principal cities of Silicon Valley in California, aimed at helping Taiwanese technology start-ups gain global visibility, the National Development Council said yesterday. The “Startup Island Taiwan Silicon Valley hub” at No. 299 California Avenue is focused on “supporting start-ups and innovators by providing professional consulting, co-working spaces, and community platforms,” the council said in a post on its Web site. The office is the second overseas start-up hub established by the council, after a similar site was set up in Tokyo in September last year. Representatives from Taiwanese start-ups, local businesses and
RSS