《TAIPEI TIMES》 KMT deletes homophobic post on its Japanese site

LGBT ‘PERVERSION’: The KMT said that the article did not represent the party and was written by a volunteer who had used the Web page as a personal platform

By Su Fun-her and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer

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The Chinese Nationalist Party （KMT） yesterday deleted an article on the Japanese-language version of its Web site that denounced LGBT people for “perversion,” after the Democratic Progressive Party （DPP） accused it of homophobia.

The article was originally published by the KMT on Oct. 31. An LGBT advocate identified as “Okinafa Chen” posted a screen grab of it on Facebook one week later with a translation and no comment.

Chen’s translation of the post read: “While homosexuals are naturally occurring, making laws for him [sic] is perversion, making husbands out of women and brides of men is extremely perverted, making laws for this perverted thing is even more perverted.”

“The DDP wants to make Taiwan a perverted country, we are not perverts, we do not want to be made into perverts, we will not stand for this and fuck you DPP,” it read.

According to the translation, the article called President Tsai Ing-wen’s （蔡英文） DPP government “more evil and dictatorial” than the KMT.

DPP Legislator Tuan Yi-kang （段宜康） on Facebook on Wednesday called the KMT’s post “rubbish.”

When asked for comment, Acting KMT Culture and Communications Committee Director-General Tang Te-ming （唐德明） said: “The article does not represent the KMT.”

After staff cutbacks, the KMT has been relying on volunteers to update content on the Japanese-language Web site and one volunteer had used it to post their personal opinion, he said, adding that the article had been deleted.

The party is to discuss whether it needs a Japanese-language site, he said.

In response, DPP spokesman Cheng Yun-peng （鄭運鵬） said at a news conference yesterday that the KMT’s Japanese-language post was “vulgar, discriminatory and shameful,” and the DPP demands that the KMT issue a formal apology.

The article is contrary to the Council of Grand Justices’ constitutional interpretation in May last year regarding the right to marriage. It is discriminatory to gay people, distorts the marriage equality referendums and misrepresents Tsai and Taiwan, he said.

The post also failed to distinguish the DPP from the Japanese Democratic Party, as their names share the same Kanji characters, he said.

“As a political party in a democratic society, the KMT should not use scurrilous or discriminatory language against elements of society that hold or express opinions different to its own,” he said.

Additional reporting by CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES