Dear sweeties
天王寺高校で一日である English Day のプログラム参加してって、お昼の時偶然うちの友達に悩み相談することを聞いて、家に帰った後このメールを天王寺高校の English Day イベント担当者に送りました。
この子は手紙をもらったか、もらったらどうな反応とか、正直分からずまま一年後ハードディスクにこのメールを見つけました。
もう一度メールを読んで、まあまあ変（＝意味不明）な英語がよく出たが、やっぱ最後感動すぎてウェブでシェアしたいです。
進路悩んでいる高校生たちに
2017.06.28 より
Dear sweeties,
I am YU-CHIEH CHANG, exchange student of OU who joined your English Day event last week. I heard you asked another foreigner student the following question, and I want to give you my answer, though you didn't ask me. You asked,
"Do people in your country usually go to University? In Japan, especially in 天王寺高校 we go to university."
Here is my answer.
It is not a yes-no question.
I think you know the answer because in your question since you'd mentioned "especially in 天王寺高校"
The educational system in Taiwan was established by the Japanese government before World War II（WWII, 第二次世界大戦）, so there isn't much difference between Japan and Taiwan when talking about education. Some research says that after the WWII, that is Japanese government left Taiwan, every development in Taiwan is behind Japanese for a decade, including education.
If you look at the newspaper in Taiwan, it will tell you the percentage of those who "pass" the 入学試験*1 is 97%. It is a very high percentage, isn't it? In fact, these 3% students are not "fail" the exam. They take the exam and they get the score, but the score (点数) "is not high enough". That's the reason why they take the exam, but they don't enter university (入学). Therefore, they "do not pass" the exam. Most of these students get a really great score, but all they want is to enter medical school and their score "are not high enough" to enter medical school.
Due to 低出生率, the number of students become less and less, but the number of the student, each university wants to require is the same. In fact, some universities keep larger the extent of it in order to require more and more students especially private schools. The current worldwide right now is to lower the number each university require or two or more universities combined together. For example, 大阪大学 and 大阪外国語大学 used to be different university.
The above is fact description. However, what I want to share with you is my story.
I was graduated from 中山女高, Zhong-Shan Girls' Senior High School. It is the second best senior high school for girls in Taipei. In Taiwan, the top high schools usually separate boys and girls, that means you can only find boys OR girls in one school. I heard that 天王寺高校 and 台北第一女子高級中學(北一女, Taipei First Girls' Senior High School) is 姉妹校, and your guesting is correct that they're the top best girls high school not only in Taipei but also in Taiwan. By the way, my high school 中山女高 is of 住吉高校 in Osaka, and I've visited them in February, 2012.
Just as 天王寺高校 and 住吉高校 in Osaka, 北一女 and 中山女高 in Taipei have long school history. Take my high school for example, both 北一女 and 中山女高 were set up in 日本統治時代, they are ones of the most oldest (古い) high schools in Taiwan. A little difference between them was that 北一女 only for Japanese girls and 中山女高 only for Taiwanese girls at that time.
The longer the school history is, the higher classes or to say the more responsibility is. I'm not sure if you know it or not, that 大阪大学 was started from 適塾 closed to 中之島. To say it easier, usually the older the school is, in the past only few people can go to school and with its frame right now, these "old schools" are still very famous for students who want to get the best education resources.
天王寺高校 and my high school, 中山女高 are in common. We all have long school history and the main point is, only those students who got high score on the 入学試験 for high school can enter. Let's why most of students in and my classmates, we go to university for advanced education.
Dear, remember, the more we get from society, the more we need to pay back to society.
( This is a Chinese saying, "得之於人者太多，出之於己者太少")
Have you noticed that from elementary school to high school, the family background of your classmates become more and more similar? This is so called "social structure" in sociology (人間科学). The higher class your family is, the more resource you have; thus, the better school or education you get.
Sometimes it's hard to tell from which you like or dislike. For me, when we talk about a subject, I like social science,
such as history or policy, but I'm good at science (理系) instead of 文系. In the past, almost every decision was decided by our parents, not by ourselves. Suddenly, we have to decide our future (should we go to university? Which university and 学部／専門 should we go to) by ourselves, but didn't what to start with.
I don't like the word "smart" (頭がいい), and I don't use it. The word "smart" is for adults praise their children. It combines too much wish of others and stress on you. In fact, smart should be generalized in every field, but our first image about "smart" is always "being good at learning".
Dears, I know you're such a brave girl who work hard and study hard for a long long time. Right now it may be a turning point for you to make a big decision. I might not be able to give you some advice, but I can be a good listener. To speak out loud is a good method at least to reduce some pressure. If it's hard to tell your parents or friends, I would like to be your listener.
Life is a journey, and we have to keep walking forward on our own. Perhaps right now we are in a tunnel without light, we can't see the destination or how far the exit is. Please keep walking forward with your eyes open, observing the environment around you even if in the dark. The hints might be one the wall, but you won't notice them without your eyes open. Please keep walking instead of staying at one point. The more destination you move, the closer you reach the goal/exit.
Dears, you're so brave to keep moving till where you are right now. I'm still not sure where my exit is, but life keeps going on. The more we've received from the society, the more we should/have to do to pay back. It's fine to wonder what is our goal or entrance of our next journey. I don't know my answer, either. Please remember to keep observing the environment around you and walking forward. Let's find our road together.
--
Sincerely yours,
Chang, Yu-Chieh（張 郁婕）
*1:A little difference of 入学試験 is that we have a national exam. Every senior high school student takes the same exam. We get the score first and then apply for the university we like. In Japan is that you have to decide which university you like and then go to the入学試験held by that school, right?
eSIMカードについて
繁体字で（台湾と香港）eSIMに関する記事を読みました。
いま検索して、私自身の理解は
この一年間に大きな影響がないと思う。理由のひとつはeSIMカード対応できる機種が少しないし、しかも現時点の電信システム（電信会社との契約、対応機種など）はまだサポートできないし、
でも三年後はどうなるがまだ断言できません。
これからは注意しなければならない部分は
①大手電信企業の反応は
②アップルとサムソン以外のスマホ製造元の反応。一緒にeSIMカードを開発するとか、対応できないとか
はポイントと思います
（承前）これからは注意しなければならない部分は
— CHIEH©石川カオリ (@wewe_ch15) 2017年6月6日
①大手電信企業の反応は
②アップルとサムソン以外のスマホ製造元の反応。一緒にeSIMカードを開発するとか、対応できないとか
はポイントと思います
2017.05.24 アジア初！台湾で同性婚は合憲だ！（４）Taiwan becomes the first Asian country to recognize gay marriage, but marriage equality is still on the road
A year ago, I attended
Therefore, I make up my mind at time time to cherish the democracy and take part in this movement as much as I could on
Recalled what happened on 2017/05/24
Chi, Chia-Wei
On the other hand, several cities in Taiwan have released "partnership" recognition for gay couples. Taipei City Government also asked the judge for its
慢下來理解差異，你會發現相同的愛存在：呂欣潔 Jennifer Lu @TEDxTaipei 2015
Lu is social worker devoted to long-term care and
#equallovetw 婚姻平權大平台 established in the beginning of this year invited everyone becomes the volunteering bee
TAPCPR
https://tapcpr.org/english/about-us
Return to TAPCPR
What I have seen on May 24th
I saw
*福永玄弥 is the Chinese-Japanese translator of Kansai Queer Film Festival
I'm not going to explain the judicial system
Obara, H. on Twitter: "多くの方が誤解しているようですが、台湾で同性間の婚姻を排除している現行民法に違憲の解釈を発表したのは最高裁判所ではありません。司法院大法官です。 https://t.co/a02YjeVyVc"
同性婚人権救済弁護団 on Twitter: "司法院大法官による憲法解釈制度については、2012年の論文であり大法官に交代がありますが、鈴木賢さんの論文が参考になります。
https://t.co/aAZ3PIwLUp https://t.co/V6PqMdeUci"
Here is the card I got (still keep it in my iPhone case lol). In the end of the demonstration, there were six color zone depends on the site you set (for me, I was in purple zone). Take our your smart phone and turn on the light with corresponding the color of the card and here is the rainbow we made.
#點亮台灣 (LIGHT UP, Taiwan) is the slogan of our president Tsai, Ing-Wen（蔡英文）when she was the presidential candidate last year. We used the same slogan this time to tell her that you have to stand with us as you have promised. Let's light up Taiwan to make us become the lighthouse of democracy in Asia.
Just a short remind. I read lots of comment from Japan (Twitter, Facebook or comment down below the news website). People saying that those who participated in the demonstration are "gay", physiological male. I need to clarify that it is somehow the queer culture difference. Not only "gay" joined the demonstration but also "other types" but it's hard to tell from the pictures which commonly being used on these newspaper for some reasons (it takes time to explain so I would like to skip it).
souvenir I got in the demonstration
For those who thought that the LGBT movement in Taiwan are leading by physiological male "gay", don't forget who are the most important promoters! TAPCPR（伴侶盟）is the defense counsel of Chi, Chia-Wei（祁家威）and the headquarter of TAPCPR are lesbian couple.
The headquarter of TAPCPR, Victoria Hsu（許秀雯）and Jennifer Lu（呂欣潔）are also the coordinators of Social Democracy Party（社會民主黨）in 2016. "Lesbians" (actually I don't like to use this word at all) are also play an important role promoting LGBT rights in Taiwan for sure, and I would rather say that seldom countries like Taiwan (especially in Asia) women are active in social movements.
We may not notice some difference due to our background but you cannot say there is no just because you do not notice it.
Indeed, it is sad to say that Victoria Hsu（許秀雯）and Jennifer Lu（呂欣潔）are kind of being forgotten (I hope they are not in purpose) for these foreign media.
ps. The host of the demonstration are Jennifer Lu（呂欣潔）and Cheng, Chi-Wei（鄭智偉）. Both of them are social worker in Taiwan Tongzhi(=LGBT) Hotline Association（同志諮詢熱線協會）. Just leave their name here. I know about Cheng before and it is a pity not to mention Cheng since it is because Lu and Cheng are the hosts so that the atmosphere of demonstraion event became so funny. lol
What we have to do from now on
針對大法官今天下午四點公告的748號解釋，聲請人祁家威及伴侶盟在此表達以下意見：
In response to the ruling in Case 748 made today (2017/5/24) at 4pm by the Grand Justices, Petitioner Mr. Chi Chia-Wei and TAPCPR have the following comments to make:
一、我們肯定「限制同性結婚」違憲的結論，認為這不僅是聲請人的勝利，更是全體公民的勝利：
大法官對於現行民法限制同性結婚明確做成違憲宣告，認定現行民法牴觸了憲法第22條及第7條規定，並且給了立法機關至多兩年緩衝期，要求立（修）法平等保障同志婚姻自由。大法官表示，婚姻自由是人民重大基本權利，這回應了法務部以及反對意見主張婚姻僅是一種制度的說法。1) We are without doubt, that this ruling affirms the position that prohibiting same-sex marriage is unconstitutional. The ruling is not just a victory for the Petitioner, but for all citizens:
The Grand Justices made a clear decision today that the Civil Code in its current form is unconstitutional; that it contravenes Articles 22 and 7 of the Constitution; and prescribed a timeframe of 2 years for the legislative to amend the law to guarantee the equal protection for same-sex couples’ freedom to marry. The Grand Justices affirmed that the freedom to marry is one of the most important freedoms we have, and in this responded to the opinions of the Ministry of Justice and the anti-marriage equality camp’s insistence that marriage is merely an ‘institution’.
二、大法官在關鍵的時刻，勇敢地扮演了憲法守護者角色：
大法官清楚指陳同性伴侶因為被剝奪了婚姻自由的保護，遭受歷史性壓迫，並且認為長久以來的立法程序過於拖沓緩慢，且基於立（修）法時程的不可預料，而此將對於同志伴侶造成重要基本權利的侵害，因此有必要在此時刻對人民重大基本權利做決定。2) At a critical juncture, the Grand Justices played an important role in protecting the Constitution:
The Grand Justices are clear that the historical injustices and affront to their basic human rights suffered by the LGBT community because they do not fall under the protection of freedom to marry, and because of the unpredictably long process of legislative action on this issue, required them to act in protection of people’s most fundamental human rights.
三、大法官已明確排除同性伴侶法：因為大法官已經清楚肯定同志有平等的結婚自由，可見大法官並不認為同性伴侶法是一個符合平等、實現婚姻自由的立法方式。3) The Grand Justices have rejected discriminatory legislation for same-sex couples such as “same-sex partnership act”:
Because they have affirmed that LGBT citizens should enjoy equal protection for the freedom to marry, it could be perceived that the Grand Justices believe that any special legislation like a “same-sex partnership act” (which is not “marriage”) would not adhere to the concept of equality, and therefore would not be the correct way to legislate for the freedom of marriage.
四、我們呼籲立法院及行政機關應儘速立法還給同志結婚權利：民進黨已經完全執政了，蔡總統在選前選後，都明確表示支持婚姻平權，立法院應該在大法官給的兩年內，儘速立法，不要在兩年時間快屆期了，才交卷。因為每一天都很重要，每一天都有許多同志朋友遭受因不平等而來的苦難。4) We call on the Legislative Yuan and all organs of government to grant the LGBT community their right to marriage:
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) controls the Presidency, the Legislative and the Executive. President Tsai Ing-wen, in her election campaign, clearly stated her support for marriage equality. We call on the Legislative Yuan, which have been given two years by the Grand Justices to amend the law; not to wait until the last minute before the deadline falls. Because every day counts, every day is important, so many LGBT friends are caught up in trouble and strife caused by this inequality.
五、大法官明確指出在本件解釋以前，從未就相同性別二人得否結婚做成解釋：過往所做的一夫一妻、一男一女的解釋，是在異性戀脈絡下所做的解釋。5) The Grand Justices explained that before this ruling, no interpretations regarding marriage between same sex partners had ever been made; all previous interpretations were on the basis of one husband, one wife, one man, one woman, and explained that these interpretations occurred entirely within the context of heterosexuality.
六、生育並非可以進行差別待遇的理由，允許同性結婚並不影響現行異性婚姻及家庭、配偶。6) Procreation is not a reason for differential treatment, allowing for homosexual marriage does not negatively affect heterosexual marriage, the 'traditional' family unit or the rights of heterosexual spouses.
七、大法官看到了活生生的同志公民存在，尤其花了大篇幅敘述聲請人祁家威爭取婚姻平權的歷程，以及民間團體在立法上的持續努力。7) The Grand Justices have seen that LGBT citizens exist, and have seen first hand the lengthy process that Mr. Chi Chia-Wei has continued on in his fight for marriage equality, and they have also seen the hard work by civil society in this regard.
八、大法官明確指出憲法第七條為例示規定，不僅無分「男女、宗教、種族、階級、黨派，在法律上一律平等」，也包括，例如身心障礙歧視之禁止，或本件性傾向的差別待遇，均屬於平等權（禁止歧視）規範的範圍。8) The Grand Justices have affirmed that Article 7 of the Constitution protects not only against discrimination based on “sex, religion, race, class, or party affiliation“ as are mentioned in its text, but also “physical, mental or other disabilities”, and, in our case sexual orientation.
---
Petitioner Mr. Chi Chia-Wei and TAPCPR Statement
re: Marriage Equality case
The following two years are crucial.
We will keep following and updating the progress rate what legislators are trying to promote.
We want to amend the civil law instead of making a special law for non-hetero couples.
#修民法 #不立專法
I was born and live in Xi-Men Ding, one of the most LGBT-friendly neighborhood in Taipei/Taiwan/Asia. I just hear that Taipei City Government is thinking to circle this area become special area as "GAY TOWN".
NO WAY! What are these people thinking to circle a special area it feels like restrict sexual minority related events or shops can only be this area.
TAIPEI CITY GOVERNMENT YOU DO NOT NEED TO DO THAT because the entire Taiwan is an LGBT-friendly society already.
It rains but we never give up because
rainbow will hang in the sky after the rain.
