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進入《TAIPEI TIMES 焦點》 Students rally for sexual equality
A woman holds up a sign reading “If the Civil Code is not amended, prejudice will never cease” during yesterday’s demonstration along Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in support of same-sex marriage. Photo: CNA
NOT FORGOTTEN: Students held up roses and jointly read a letter in memory of Yeh Yung-chih, whose death in 2000 prompted a law for diversity in sex education
By Sean Lin / Staff reporter
University and high-school student groups from 71 institutions across the nation yesterday rallied on Ketagalan Boulevard in Taipei in support of marriage equality.
Shouting slogans, demonstrators vowed to defend equal rights to marriage, resist bullying and end discrimination against homosexuals.
“We are here today to tell teachers, experts and academics: ‘Do not speak on our behalf’ … We are here to tell the Religious Groups for the Love of Families Taiwan: ‘You are wrong,’” Chaoyang University of Technology student Fan Yung-le （范永樂） said.
“Homosexuals are citizens. If we perform our civil obligations, why should we be denied our civil rights?” he said.
He panned legislators and city councilors who have spoken out against legalizing same-sex marriage and urged participants to oust them in the next election.
National Chiayi University student Huang Chia-yuan （黃佳緣） said her student club on Friday raised a rainbow flag on the campus, but it was removed by university officials who issued a statement distancing the university from the flag-raising.
The incident indicates that there is still much room for improvement in the pursuit of fair treatment for sexual minorities, Huang said.
“Legalize same-sex marriage so that couples do not have to live with regret; so that parents and children can be legally united; so that homosexuals locked deep in the closet can see a future,” she said.
“We would like to ask society: ‘Why can we not be married?’” she said.
“Although the Gender Equality Education Act （性別平等教育法） took effect in 2004, sex education and an understanding of gender equality are lacking in society,” Taiwan Student Marriage Equality Association spokesman Kuo Ping-han （郭稟翰） said.
Kuo said that he hopes that schools can offer students more accurate sex education, adding that this should be the job of schools, university gender equality committees and teachers, rather than student groups.
“We want campuses that are free of conflict, discrimination and fear,” he said.
Vowing to better understand people who have a different sexual orientation, the students held up roses donated for the event and jointly read a letter in memory of Yeh Yung-chih （葉永鋕）, also known as the “rose boy” after a 2009 documentary made by the Ministry of Education with that title.
“Dear Yung-chih, you will not be forgotten, because we all have been Yeh Yung-chihs. We students have made a stand,” the letter said. “We want to tell Mrs Yeh: ‘We might have paused along the way, but we have never given up. We want to let more people jump on this wagon. We want to encourage more students to come forward. You will live on in our hearts forever.”
Yeh, a former student at Pingtung County Gao-Shu Junior High School, was frequently bullied by his peers because of his perceived “effeminate” temperament, which allegedly made him fear going to the bathroom during recess.
On April 20, 2000, Yeh was found unconscious in a pool of his own blood after going to the bathroom during class.
Forensic reports said that Yeh could have fallen and hit his head against the floor after slipping on wet tiles.
His death prompted the promulgation of the act and for the ministry to create learning materials aimed at promoting diversity in sex education.
新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES
Supporters of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and human rights wave rainbow flags during a rally supporting in Taipei yesterday a proposal to allow same-sex marriage. Photo: AP
