Taipei Court Denies Transgender ID Change Request
A Taipei court has denied a transgender woman's request to change the gender marker on her government ID without requiring surgery or a psychological evaluation. The rights group supporting her legal case says they will likely appeal.
Transcript
00:00A setback for Taiwan's transgender community today, as the Taipei High Administrative Court
00:05has denied a transgender woman named Vivi the right to change her gender identity on
00:10government IDs without undergoing gender-affirming surgery or a psychiatric evaluation.
00:15This is what her legal team has to say.
00:17Our legal team will appeal against this ruling.
00:22The plaintiff, Vivi, was suing the government to waive the current legal requirements for
00:41her case.
00:42She insisted on providing only daily life photos of her and statements from her mother
00:46and friends as evidence.
00:48Her team argues that being transgender is not a mental condition.
00:51They say more than 20 countries, including Spain and New Zealand, have already granted
00:55individuals full freedom in choosing gender markers, and that Taiwan should follow suit.
01:01The judge says today that the evidence provided by Vivi is difficult to use an objective proof
01:06of her identity, meaning that some form of medical evaluation is still required.
01:11Now this is just a ruling of a single case.
01:14There's no precedent in Taiwanese law, meaning that until the law is changed, each individual
01:19can fight their own case, but it's undoubtedly a big disappointment for those hoping this
01:23case could provide a breakthrough for Taiwan's transgender community.
01:27Many don't have the time or the resources to fight lengthy legal battles, and rulings
01:32like today's show that there are no quick fixes in gaining easy legal recognition for
01:36transgender people.
01:38Luvi Lee and Ai-Ring Lin in Taipei for Taiwan Plus.