The BBC today named Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) on its list of 100 inspiring women of the year.
The BBC 100 Women 2024 list honors “inspiring and influential women from around the world” this year in no particular order.
The British broadcaster said that Huang made history in January when she became the first openly LGBTQ+ member of the Legislative Yuan.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Huang has pushed for major reforms during her career, including the right for single women and lesbian couples to receive fertility treatment and legislating responses to period poverty, the BBC said.
She has also advocated strengthening existing laws to combat digital sexual violence, and has been outspoken about the abuse she has faced since coming out last year and as a victim of deepfake pornography, it said.
“True resilience lies in embracing diversity,” the broadcaster quoted Huang as saying. “The more voices we include, the stronger we become — especially those once considered weak, women and LGBTQ+.”
In October, Huang also made it onto Time magazine’s “100 Next” list honoring emerging leaders around the world.
A small number of Taiwanese this year lost their citizenship rights after traveling in China and obtaining a one-time Chinese passport to cross the border into Russia, a source said today. The people signed up through Chinese travel agencies for tours of neighboring Russia with companies claiming they could obtain Russian visas and fast-track border clearance, the source said on condition of anonymity. The travelers were actually issued one-time-use Chinese passports, they said. Taiwanese are prohibited from holding a Chinese passport or household registration. If found to have a Chinese ID, they may lose their resident status under Article 9-1
Taiwanese were praised for their composure after a video filmed by Taiwanese tourists capturing the moment a magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck Japan’s Aomori Prefecture went viral on social media. The video shows a hotel room shaking violently amid Monday’s quake, with objects falling to the ground. Two Taiwanese began filming with their mobile phones, while two others held the sides of a TV to prevent it from falling. When the shaking stopped, the pair calmly took down the TV and laid it flat on a tatami mat, the video shows. The video also captured the group talking about the safety of their companions bathing
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
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