Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) visited lawmakers of different parties yesterday to push for the passage of an amendment to the Assisted Reproduction Act (人工生殖法).
It was the first time that Ko, a former Taipei mayor, appeared at the Legislative Yuan since being released on NT$70 million (US$2.2 million) bail in September last year in a corruption case.
He had been detained since late 2024 on allegations that he accepted bribes related to the Core Pacific City development project in 2022 during his tenure as mayor and embezzled political donations during his 2024 presidential campaign.
Photo: Tien Yu-hua, Taipei Times
Speaking with reporters, Ko said amending the Assisted Reproduction Act would benefit the public and it would be inappropriate for political parties to fight over the bill and “oppose it simply for the sake of opposing it.”
“I’m here to persuade the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) to support the amendment to the act,” Ko said. “The act does not involve ideology. It’s for the public’s good.”
Last month, the Cabinet unveiled an amendment to the act, aiming to extend access to assisted reproduction from infertile heterosexual couples to single women and married lesbian couples.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Under the proposals drafted by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, single women and lesbian couples would be granted access to
assisted reproductive technology.
Another proposal by TPP Legislator Chen Gao-tzu (陳昭姿), a doctor-
turned-politician, has pushed for since early 2024 would include a surrogate mother mechanism, but the DPP has opposed the idea, which Chen criticized for putting politics above public welfare.
As Chen is to step down as a TPP legislator-at-large after serving in the role for two years based on party rules, Ko showed up at the Legislative Yuan to seek support for Chen’s proposal before her term ends.
Ko said that after his release, he had read court documents every day for oral arguments in the bribery case hearing in the Taipei District Court, but since the trial has ended, he had time to visit political parties and urge them to pass Chen’s amendment.
Ko, who maintained that he was not guilty during the trial, is scheduled to receive a verdict on March 26.
In response to media queries for comment, Health Promotion Administration (HPA) Director-General Shen Ching-fen (沈靜芬) said the HPA has referenced other countries and gathered opinions from medical, academic and social groups as it wrote its amendment draft with plans to extend the application of the act to include female same-sex couples who have completed marriage registration, as well as unmarried women, in response to the actual needs of diverse family structures.
Surrogacy involves multiple aspects including ethical, legal, maternal and infant health and human rights issues, Shen said
Saying there must still be a comprehensive assessment based on international practices, the national situation, social expectations and the best interests of children, she stressed the need to strengthen communication and build a consensus.
Additional reporting by Ho Chia-yu
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
RSS