2015.02.03
Transgender reforms to take more time: ministry
By Lii Wen / Staff reporter
Taipei Times, Jan 29 2015
Reform on gender reassignment regulations would require more time and discussion among different government agencies, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday.
The decision ran contrary to a reported agreement between Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) on Dec. 25 last year, in which the ministry promised to lay out a new draft for gender reassignment regulations within one month — that is, by Sunday.
Ting said that the ministry promised to abolish a controversial surgical requirement for applicants who want to legally change their registered gender — a requirement that has long been criticized as “inhumane” and forcing transgender people to undergo cheap, unsafe surgeries.
Deputy Director of Household Registration Jair Lan-ping (翟蘭萍) yesterday told the Taipei Times that the one-month deadline was in reference to the launch of formal discussions on the issue, adding that a meeting on the reforms convened on Jan. 16.
She said that the issue required further discussion, as a draft proposed at the meeting prompted “very diverse opinions” from various groups and government agencies.
Transgender activist Zoe Ye (葉若瑛) — who was born male, but identifies as a transgender woman — said that a closer reading of a statement issued by the ministry revealed that it only specified a meeting to begin within one month.
She added that previous public anticipation for the reforms to be carried out within a month “might have been a bit too optimistic.”
Two further meetings between civic groups and government agencies have been scheduled by the ministry for after the Lunar New Year — which falls on Feb. 19 this year — Ye said.
Taipei Times, Jan 29 2015
Reform on gender reassignment regulations would require more time and discussion among different government agencies, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday.
The decision ran contrary to a reported agreement between Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ting Shou-chung (丁守中) on Dec. 25 last year, in which the ministry promised to lay out a new draft for gender reassignment regulations within one month — that is, by Sunday.
Ting said that the ministry promised to abolish a controversial surgical requirement for applicants who want to legally change their registered gender — a requirement that has long been criticized as “inhumane” and forcing transgender people to undergo cheap, unsafe surgeries.
Deputy Director of Household Registration Jair Lan-ping (翟蘭萍) yesterday told the Taipei Times that the one-month deadline was in reference to the launch of formal discussions on the issue, adding that a meeting on the reforms convened on Jan. 16.
She said that the issue required further discussion, as a draft proposed at the meeting prompted “very diverse opinions” from various groups and government agencies.
Transgender activist Zoe Ye (葉若瑛) — who was born male, but identifies as a transgender woman — said that a closer reading of a statement issued by the ministry revealed that it only specified a meeting to begin within one month.
She added that previous public anticipation for the reforms to be carried out within a month “might have been a bit too optimistic.”
Two further meetings between civic groups and government agencies have been scheduled by the ministry for after the Lunar New Year — which falls on Feb. 19 this year — Ye said.
