Taiwan's Luxury Beliefs
Why Taiwan's Military Will Lose the War
China In Arms BOOKSTORE and GIFT SHOP!
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19 April 2025 (Saturday)
Taiwan's Luxury Beliefs
Why Taiwan's Military Will Lose the War
By Wendell Minnick (Whiskey Mike) 顏文德; Ross Feingold (@rossfeingold) deserves a shout out for pointing this article out.
TAIPEI - This is what truly captures the attention of young people in Taiwan.
Not the threat of invasion.
Not the slow creep of authoritarianism, poised to swallow their democracy whole.
The idea of defending their nation—of standing up to be counted, to protect their way of life from being erased?
For many, it barely registers.
Instead, they’re consumed by luxury beliefs—trendy ideals imported from the West. Ideals they can’t afford, yet adopt as if insulated from consequence.
They preach tolerance, globalism, and moral superiority, believing themselves above the harsh realities closing in.
But as Victor Davis Hanson warns, they imagine they’re “not subject to the ramifications of their own ideology.”
That fantasy is dangerous. It won’t stop tanks. It won’t preserve freedom. And unless they wake up, it may cost them everything.
Survey reveals lack of gender equity support at Taiwan universities
04/18/2025 08:04 PM
Taipei, April 18 (CNA) - A student advocacy group on Friday released the
results of a gender equity survey conducted at 17 universities across
Taiwan, revealing that all institutions fell short in areas such as
support for LGBTQ students and the functioning of legally required
gender equity committees.
Two days ahead of Taiwan's Gender Equity Education Day on Sunday, the
Student Alliance for Gender Equality held a news conference in Taipei,
where the group's representatives highlighted areas needing improvement
in the implementation of gender equity across the country's public and
private universities.
Under the Gender Equality Education Act, every school in Taiwan must
have a gender equality committee to "investigate and handle cases"
related to gender equity at schools and "plan and establish a safe and
gender-fair campus," among other responsibilities.
Among those 17 universities, "two did not make their gender equity
committee member lists available, and only two disclosed members'
stances on gender equity or relevant professional experience," said
Sydney Shao (邵思宇), a student at National Taiwan University (NTU).
Shao, who also serves as a student member of NTU's gender equity
committee, said that none of the 17 universities allow students to
participate in the committee's selection process, and 10 of them do not
even disclose the criteria used to select committee members.
"How can students who have been hurt feel reassured under such an opaque
system?" Shao questioned.
Shao added that even if a student decides to file a complaint, they are
faced with a "harsh reality" of severely understaffed gender equity
committees.
Six of the surveyed schools have no full-time personnel handling gender
equity affairs, with responsibilities managed part-time by other staff,
Shao said, noting that at universities with dedicated staff -- such as
NTU -- one full-time officer is responsible for the needs of nearly
8,000 students.
For individuals with diverse gender identities, Lillian Hsiao (蕭錦蓮), a
student at Kaohsiung Medical University's Graduate Institute of Gender
Studies, said that Article 20 of the Gender Equity Education Act
stipulates that "teachers shall maintain an awareness of gender equity,
eliminate gender stereotypes, and avoid gender prejudice and
discrimination."
However, many institutions have yet to fully implement such support,
Hsiao said, citing data showing that only four of the 17 universities
established anonymous reporting mechanisms that are consistently
available to address discrimination.
Hsiao said that a nonbinary student once shared with the group that a
teacher had publicly questioned them in class, asking, "Are you a boy or
a girl?"
"Most of the classmates laughed after hearing the question, while the
student remained silent as they did not know who they could report it
to, and were afraid that speaking up might affect their grades," Hsiao said.
"This kind of discrimination based on gender identity makes it
impossible for students to feel reassured while learning in class,"
Hsiao added.
Outside the classroom, dormitory arrangements in most schools are also
far from inclusive, especially for transgender students, according to
Josephine Tai (戴靜茹), a student at National Yang Ming Chiao Tung
University.
Only six universities provide gender-friendly dormitories, and 14 have
not made their transfer mechanisms for gender-diverse students publicly
available, Tai said.
When seeking to change dormitories, transgender students often cannot
find a designated contact point or clear procedures to follow, leaving
them in a state of uncertainty and anxiety throughout the process, Tai
noted.
In response to the group's concerns, Wu Lin-hui (吳林輝), head of the
Ministry of Education's (MOE) Department of Student Affairs and Special
Education, told reporters later on Friday that the ministry had
previously conducted a survey and also found that some schools lacked
stable staffing to handling gender equity affairs.
While such a type of staffing falls under university autonomy, Wu said
the MOE had sent notices to universities as a follow-up to its own
survey, urging them to prioritize the allocation of full-time personnel.
Regarding the lack of gender-friendly dormitories, Wu said that, unlike
barrier-free facilities, such dormitories are not explicitly mandated
under current building regulations.
The MOE is currently promoting gender-friendly dormitories through
policy guidance and resource support to help universities "move forward
at a quicker pace" toward achieving gender equity, he added.
