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.
Chinese spouse and influencer Guan Guan’s (關關) residency permit has been revoked for repeatedly posting pro-China videos that threaten national security, the National Immigration Agency confirmed today. Guan Guan has said many controversial statements in her videos posted to Douyin (抖音), including “the red flag will soon be painted all over Taiwan” and “Taiwan is an inseparable part of China,” and expressing hope for expedited reunification. The agency last year received multiple reports alleging that Guan Guan had advocated for armed reunification. After verifying the reports, the agency last month issued a notice requiring her to appear and explain her actions. Guan
GIVE AND TAKE: Blood demand continues to rise each year, while fewer young donors are available due to the nation’s falling birthrate, a doctor said Blood donors can redeem points earned from donations to obtain limited edition Formosan black bear travel mugs, the Kaohsiung Blood Center said yesterday, as it announced a goal of stocking 20,000 units of blood prior to the Lunar New Year. The last month of the lunar year is National Blood Donation Month, when local centers seek to stockpile blood for use during the Lunar New Year holiday. The blood demand in southern Taiwan — including Tainan and Kaohsiung, as well as Chiayi, Pingtung, Penghu and Taitung counties — is about 2,000 units per day, the center said. The donation campaign aims to boost
The Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau audited six hotels in an effort to prevent price gouging ahead of Korean band BTS’ concert tour in the city scheduled for Nov. 19, 21 and 22 this year. The bureau on Friday said that the audits — conducted in response to allegations of unfair pricing posted on social media — found no wrongdoing. These establishments included the local branches of Chateau de Chine, Hotel Nikko, My Humble House, and Grand Hai Lai, it said, adding that the Consumer Protection Commission would have penalized price gougers had the accusations been substantiated. The bureau said the Tourism Development Act
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) said a magnitude 4.9 earthquake that struck off the coast of eastern Taiwan yesterday was an independent event and part of a stress-adjustment process. The earthquake occurred at 4:47pm, with its epicenter at sea about 45.4km south of Yilan County Hall at a depth of 5.9km, the CWA said. The quake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in several townships in Yilan and neighboring Hualien County, where it measured 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the CWA said. Lin Po-yu (林柏佑), a division chief at the CWA's Seismological Center, told a news conference
RSS