"Do people with disabilities have sex?"... Taipei Mayor Apologizes for Police Officer's Derogatory Remarks During Raid on LGBTQ+ Bar

The mayor of Taipei has personally issued an apology after it was revealed that Taiwanese police made derogatory remarks toward people with disabilities and insulted patrons during a raid on an LGBTQ+ bar in Taipei.

According to Taiwan's Liberty Times and other reports, Taiwanese police raided an LGBTQ+ bar in Taipei on October 3 and questioned 52 people, including the owner and patrons.

Police explained that they launched the search in accordance with legal procedures after receiving a report that obscene acts were taking place at the establishment and securing prior evidence.

However, controversy grew as it became known that some police officers made inappropriate remarks and behaved inappropriately toward people with disabilities and patrons present at the scene during the crackdown.

According to a police investigation, one officer made remarks to the effect of, "Can people with disabilities even have sex?" while another officer was found to have ordered people at the scene to kneel or hurled insults at them.

Human rights civic groups held rallies to criticize the police officers' remarks and their crackdown methods.

They demanded an independent fact-finding investigation, the release of crackdown records, the establishment of police guidelines for crackdowns on LGBTQ+ establishments, and the reflection of equal rights for socially vulnerable groups in police performance evaluations.

Taiwanese police decided to discipline the officers who made inappropriate remarks based on the investigation results and hold commanding officers accountable for failing to stop them at the scene.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an also apologized for the police officers' remarks and actions, ordering thorough measures to prevent recurrence.

Mayor Chiang stated, "Regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, identity, group, or affiliation, everyone is a Taipei citizen enjoying the same rights," adding, "The discriminatory remarks and behavior of our colleagues in this incident violated our principles."

(Photo: Getty Images)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.