Activists say sex-change rules reform could take years

By Lii Wen / Staff reporter





Transgender rights activists yesterday said that reforms on gender reassignment regulations might require legislative action, amid speculation that current reforms aimed at revising an administrative order issued by the Ministry of the Interior will not succeed.

Prospects are unclear on whether the ministry would finalize its decision by Sunday — as promised by Minister of the Interior Chen Wei-zen (陳威仁) last month — following furious opposition from transgender activists over a new draft proposed by the ministry last week.

The controversial draft would bar married applicants or those with children from changing their registered gender and would limit gender reassignment to once in a lifetime.

Transgender and transsexual activists said the rules infringed on the rights of many middle-aged people who wish to legally change their gender despite having gone through marriage or having children.

TG Butterfly Garden spokesperson Quinton Kao (高旭寬), a female-to-male transsexual, said that suggestions to adopt a legislative path were made during a meeting at the ministry on Friday.

He said that it was “highly unlikely” that the issue would be resolved by its proposed deadline on Sunday, adding that a legislative path could take several years.

Household Registration deputy director Jair Lan-pin (翟蘭萍) said the ministry is still compiling the suggestions of different government agencies on the issue and is set to receive their written reports by tomorrow.

She said that a legislative path toward reform on gender reassignment regulations was “an option.”

On Dec. 25, the ministry agreed to terminate a controversial requirement for the surgical removal of gender-specific organs before a person can apply for gender reassignment, and promised to devise new regulations within one month.