A gender debate has been reignited after the International Olympic Committee's decision to allow Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting and Algerian boxer Imane Khelif to compete in Paris after both were disqualified at the 2023 World Championships having failed gender eligibility tests.
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00:00After being cleared to fight for Olympic gold, 28-year-old Taiwanese boxer and two-time world
00:06champion Ling Yuting should be focusing on the competition, but is instead embroiled
00:12in another unwelcome controversy over her gender.
00:15Now that includes renowned author of Harry Potter J.K. Rowling, who's previously angered
00:20many with her outspoken stance against transgender rights.
00:24Rowling posting on X, what will it take to end this insanity of female boxer killed?
00:32It's a reaction to the International Olympic Committee's decision to clear Ling and Algerian
00:37boxer Imani Khalif to compete after both were disqualified at the World Championships last
00:43year, having failed gender tests administered by the International Boxing Association, a
00:48federation no longer recognized by the Olympics.
00:51We all have a responsibility, by the way, to try to dial down this and not turn it into
00:56some kind of witch hunt.
00:57These are regular athletes who've competed for many years in boxing.
01:00They're entirely eligible.
01:01They are women on their passports.
01:05That I think is enough said from me.
01:08The Chinese Taipei Olympic Committee has emphasized that Ling's eligibility complies with international
01:14rules.
01:15Throughout her career, Ling has always competed as a woman and does not identify as transgender.
01:21It's a position Ling's team has maintained ever since she was stripped of her World Championship
01:26bronze medal last year, a disqualification that Ling said she had never dealt with before.
01:32This is also the first time we've met.
01:37While the question of whether transgender women should be allowed to compete in women's
01:41sports is fiercely debated, with critics citing safety concerns to female competitors, it's
01:46an issue that's brought invasive speculation into many female athletes and their bodies.
01:52South African sprinter and double Olympic champion Kastor Semenya is still fighting
01:57a more than five-year battle in court to overturn World Athletics rules that force female athletes
02:03with differences in sexual development to medically reduce natural hormone levels.
02:09My last chance winning the Olympics was 2016, so the Paris Olympics is not really my goal.
02:16My goal is more on winning my battles against the authorities.
02:22It's me fighting for what's right.
02:24As for Ling, the shot to compete in Paris is a high point in her 15-year boxing career.
02:30Ling has fought among the best, including two-time British Olympic gold medalist Nicola
02:35Adams in 2016.
02:37Though Ling lost to Adams, speaking to Taiwan Plus in the lead-up to Paris, Ling described
02:42the sacrifices she's made to stay motivated, to bring home Taiwan's first gold medal in
02:47the sport she loves.
02:49If I were to be reborn again, I would still choose boxing.
02:56I want to win the Paris Olympics and win the Olympic gold for Taiwan.
03:07And Ling's chance is coming up soon.
03:09She's the top seed in the women's 57-kilogram featherweight class in Paris, earning her
03:14a first-round bye, and will take on Uzbekistan's Sitora Tertibikova on Friday.
03:20Ethan Chen and Joyce Sun for Taiwan Plus.