Several advocacy groups warned today that the advancement of gender equality policies for the entire year could come to a complete standstill as they criticized a budgetary amendment proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to cut funding for gender equality services.
Gender equality advocacy groups including Taiwan Equality Campaign, the Taiwan Gender Equality Education Association, the Taiwan LGBT Family Rights Advocacy and the Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association released a joint statement today in response to a bill proposed by KMT lawmakers that would cancel almost the entire budget for services provided by the Executive Yuan’s Department of Gender Equality if it passes.
KMT Legislator Hsu Hsin-ying (徐欣瑩) proposed the bill that would cut funding for gender equality services from NT$16.27 million (US$490,000) to just NT$3,000, which was cosigned by KMT Legislators Niu Hsu-ting (牛煦庭) and Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄).
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
As the legislative review of the central government budget for the fiscal year 2025 remains in progress, the groups called for legislators to adopt a professional and constructive attitude towards reviewing the proposal.
Improving amendments and policies advocating for gender equality requires not only legislative oversight but also sufficient resources from the budget to support work such as collecting statistics and data, researching policies and holding discussions, they said.
The Awakening Foundation also released a statement yesterday, saying that although legislators proposing and reviewing bills is necessary within Taiwan’s democratic system, the proposal clearly lacks substance and shows that the legislators who proposed it do not understand the governance, labor division or responsibilities of Taiwan’s gender equality system.
Hsu said that many ministries have implemented gender equality policies, not just the Executive Yuan's Department of Gender Equality, and her former political stances show that she is a staunch advocate for gender equality policies and their budgeting.
This proposal is intended to make the Department of Gender Equality play a more active role in policy oversight, and the proposing legislators hope the department can clarify its plans to continue its work so that legislators can adjust the budget accordingly, she said.
The department has not effectively communicated with legislators, leading to misunderstandings among activist groups who are not familiar with the legislative process and believe that the budget cuts would affect the implementation of gender-equality related policies, which is untrue, she added.
Hsu urged the department to send personnel to report to legislators how they could improve policy oversight in future.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or