Nine Taipei City councilors from across party lines yesterday announced an alliance to promote gender equality and said they would monitor and question Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on policies concerning LGBT rights, independent Taipei City Councilor Chiu Wei-chieh (邱威傑) said.
The other councilors are the New Power Party’s Lin Ying-meng (林穎孟), Lin Liang-chun (林亮君) and Huang Yu-fen (黃郁芬); the Social Democratic Party’s Miao Po-ya (苗博雅); the Democratic Progressive Party’s Wang Min-sheng (王閔生), Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and Wang Shih-chien (王世堅); and the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Dai Hsi-chin (戴錫欽).
As the final version of the Executive Yuan’s “enforcement act of Judicial Yuan Interpretation No. 748,” which would recognize marriages between two people of the same sex who are at least 18 years old, is expected to go into effect on May 24, the alliance said it would make sure the city government protected those rights.
With Ko to report on his administration’s performance tomororw, Lin Ying-meng would ask him whether the household registration administration is ready to cope with the new regulations, as well as other gender equality policies, such as setting up baby changing stations in men’s public restrooms, she said.
Three alliance members were elected from the Daan-Wenshan (大安-文山) constituency, which is usually viewed as having more voters with traditional values, Miao said.
This indicates that support for gender equality is not “poison to votes” and more politicians should speak up to protect gender equality, she said.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that