LGBTQ+ Groups Welcome Government Decision to Maintain Exemption Status for Intersex and Gender Dysphoria Individuals

The Taiwan government has officially confirmed that intersex individuals and those diagnosed with gender dysphoria will continue to be exempt from mandatory military service. Advocacy groups, including the Taiwan Alliance to Promote Civil Partnership Rights (TAPCPR), issued a joint statement praising the government’s willingness to listen to public opinion but emphasized that this exemption is merely a baseline. They urged the government to comprehensively improve gender-friendly environments and infrastructure within the military.

Late last year, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of National Defense proposed amendments to the "Physical Status Classification Standards," which would have reclassified these individuals from "exempt" to "alternative service." Following strong opposition from various gender equality and youth organizations, the government decided to maintain the existing standards, allowing those with a one-year diagnosis of gender dysphoria to remain exempt.

In their joint statement, the TAPCPR, Amnesty International Taiwan, and the Gender Equality Student Alliance presented three core demands. First, they called for the "de-medicalization" of the physical status assessment process, aligning with international psychiatric standards that no longer pathologize transgender identities. They urged the ministries to ensure that medical institutions conducting re-examinations adhere to international human rights standards and improve the gender sensitivity of medical personnel to avoid discriminatory treatment.

Second, the groups criticized the ongoing use of traditional terminology such as "conscripted males" when referring to transgender women in official documents and public statements. They called for improvements to military infrastructure, including bathrooms and housing, to ensure privacy, and the enhancement of mental health support systems for service members.

Finally, the groups pointed out that this controversy arose because the affected communities were excluded from the initial policy-making process. They urged the government to incorporate the voices of directly impacted groups into future policy formulation.

The statement clarified that the issue is not the ability of transgender or female individuals to serve, but rather the current binary and hyper-masculine military culture, which fails to accommodate diverse gender identities. The groups concluded that Taiwan’s military reform must move beyond binary authority and build a defense system that respects the dignity of all individuals, regardless of their gender expression.