TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The National Students' Union of Taiwan (NSUT, 台灣學生聯合會) protested at the Ministry of Education (MOE, 教育部) on Monday (Oct. 21), accusing the government of failing to implement a promised policy of free menstrual products. MOE announced the initiative in 2023, pledging NT$200 million annually to combat period poverty by providing diverse menstrual products to students.
The NSUT claims many universities still need to receive the funds. Rebecca Hsu (許瑞兒), vice president of the National Chengchi University Student Association (政治大學學生會), describes the situation in her university. She stated that to prevent misuse, the school only provides products for emergencies without informing students of the pick-up locations, making the process cumbersome and lacking transparency.
Ben Hsiao (蕭正傑), an NSUT member, noted that National Sun Yat-sen University (國立中山大學) and National Taiwan Normal University (國立台灣師範大學) have shown better results. The former's Gender Equity Education Committee (性別平等教育委員會) allocated hundreds of thousands of NT dollars to place menstrual products on each floor.
Weng Hsin-jou (翁歆媃), president of NSUT, urged MOE to assess implementation across universities, investigate product demand, provide financial support, and ensure accessible distribution methods to eradicate period poverty. Period poverty affects individuals who cannot afford adequate menstrual products due to financial constraints, leading to long-term negative impacts on health and daily life.
