“Let’s not just leave it like this, okay? Many things can’t just be left like this. If this is the case, people will die slowly and die!” This is the TV series ” The classic line in “The Man Who Can Choose: The Wave Makers” comes from a female executive of the opposition party telling female grassroots party workers that she is willing to join the latter in complaining about sexual harassment within the party.
After the film was aired on an international streaming platform, it became popular in Taiwan. The aides of major political parties who were insinuated at that time, including Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Lai Qingde, all posted articles mentioning the success of this film.
But no one thought at the time that this popular series, written by a former political staff member of the Democratic Progressive Party, predicted the tsunami of “sexual harassment” allegations in Taiwan’s political circles (including various parties).
Relevant real-name allegations first appeared within the Democratic Progressive Party, and then a senior media person accused the KMT of sexual harassment on behalf of the Democratic Party. The issue of sexual harassment became an unexpected storm shortly after the start of Taiwan’s presidential election.
But the controversy has also spread to the academic and literary circles. In recent days, many people have been accused, including Wang Dan, a Chinese “June 4th” pro-democracy activist who is a visiting assistant professor at Tsinghua University in Taiwan, and Bei Ling, an exiled writer who visited Taiwan. Both have denied the allegations.
Other cases include an associate professor at Taiwan National Chung Cheng University, a professor at National Taiwan University Hospital, Ke Wenzhe Qian Wendan, Chairman of the People’s Party, a scholar at a KMT think tank, a documentary director, and a former local newspaper executive, etc. The issue of sexual harassment in Taiwan continues to rage.
Most of these accused persons deny the relevant allegations and say they are willing to clarify through judicial channels. BBC Chinese was unable to independently verify the allegations.
Storm of ‘sexual harassment’ allegations
Last week, a grassroots party worker who used to work for Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party, Chen Baoyu, accused him of being sexually harassed in the workplace when he worked in the party’s election campaign last year. She said that although she immediately notified the party’s Women’s Department (now changed to the Gender Equality Department), she claimed that she was mistreated and re-victimized by a senior female executive who was born in the women’s movement. She said that after watching the TV series, she broke down again, but she made the matter public, hoping that the party will still reform accordingly.
The post by the woman surnamed Chen quickly sparked heated discussions in Taiwan’s political arena. The next day, another former party worker surnamed Chen from the Democratic Progressive Party again alleged that he had been sexually harassed by colleagues in the party. The woman claimed in her post that after reporting to her supervisor, she was belittled by the latter and joined forces with the assailant to squeeze her out. She had mental health problems and then resigned. The woman surnamed Chen also complained that there were many witnesses at the scene, but few people offered a helping hand.
After the publication of the two articles, public opinion in Taiwan caused an uproar. The Democratic Progressive Party faced a storm within the party. Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen issued an apology. The director involved resigned. In addition to apologizing for the second time, he also said that the DPP will completely reform.
On Monday (June 5), Lai Qingde proposed a three-point reform plan, including the establishment of a direct complaint window, the principle of zero tolerance, and the immediate revision of party regulations. Li Yanrong, director of the Gender Equality Department of the Democratic Progressive Party, set up a complaint mailbox, saying that only she can read the mailbox and encourage victims to file complaints.
The issue of sexual harassment has become an unexpected political storm when Taiwan’s presidential election officially starts in 2024. The focus of public opinion in Taiwan is now, first and foremost, the Democratic Progressive Party – which has promoted many women’s political suffrage and marriage affirmative action bills – how it will completely reform to respond to the doubts of the outside world, especially the younger generation.
Observing the crisis of sexual harassment allegations involving the Democratic Progressive Party, Li Dingzan, a retired professor at the Institute of Sociology of Tsinghua University in Taiwan, posted on Facebook, “The Democratic Progressive Party started with emphasizing the weak and the minority, which is an important core value of the party.” However, in recent years, President Tsai Ing-wen has placed particular emphasis on national security and the economy, marginalizing core values. Many social, cultural and educational issues are “almost out of the minds of those in power. This incident of gender equality only reflects the tip of the iceberg.” Appearing in the Ministry of Women and Youth is even more ironic, and it also highlights the changes in the ruling party in recent years.”
Li Dingzan believes that the DPP should return to its original intention of founding the party, “start from here, use this incident to conduct a comprehensive reflection, actively take care of the weak and minorities, and propose specific policy plans, so as to slowly regain the lost hearts. Come.”
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Sexual harassment cases in Taiwanese politics are frequent
In fact, in Taiwan’s political circles, no matter what your position is, there are frequent cases of sexual harassment and even sexual assault, which has always been criticized.
On Tuesday (June 6), the Taipei court ruled that KMT legislator Chen Xuesheng had sexually harassed DPP legislator Fan Yun, and ordered Fan Nan to be compensated NT$80,000. The Kuomintang responded that it respects the judicial decision but will not revoke Chen Xuesheng’s qualification to nominate for the next legislator.
According to Taiwan Media Central News Agency, at the end of 2021, Lin Yihua, the current deputy mayor of Taipei City, used to serve as a legislator. Lin Nan, the director of the office, was also suspected of sexually assaulting a woman. The first instance also ruled that Lin Yihua and Lin Nan should pay more than NT$2 million in joint civil compensation.
A woman surnamed Zhong who once accused the People’s Party of being sexually harassed in the workplace posted a post on Facebook, questioning the People’s Party’s attitude towards her accusation when it criticized the DPP’s sexual harassment controversy. Zhong said: “Have you ever thought about my feelings? ? Why is it obligatory for the other party to stand up the next day when the incident of the other party comes out?”
Qiu Qixin, a Taiwanese political commentator and a researcher at the Taiwan Studies Program at the University of Nottingham, told BBC Chinese that the DPP is likely to try to expose similar cases within the KMT, in order to reverse the fact that only the DPP has “sexual abuse”. cases of bullying”.
He said that the KMT may also be reluctant to attack the DPP too aggressively on this issue, because the party has similar cases in the past, and there may be cases that it is unwilling to disclose. Qiu Qixin said: “Similarly, Ke Wenzhe, chairman of the People’s Party and presidential candidate, has been criticized for his frequent misogynistic remarks for a long time. This may also be seized by the pan-green camp.”
Sexual harassment incidents are difficult to solve?
According to last year’s statistics from Taiwan’s Ministry of Health and Welfare, the number of sexual harassment complaints in Taiwan has increased year by year in the past five years. Among the victims of sexual harassment, 96% are women, and more than 60% are under the age of 30.
On Monday (June 5), Taiwan women’s rights groups also held a press conference on “Let Victims of Sexual Harassment No Longer Silence”. Citing the data from the “Equality Survey on Workplace Employment” conducted by the Ministry of Labor of Taiwan’s Executive Yuan from 2017 to 2021, they stated that 70-80% of those who were sexually harassed in the workplace chose not to complain, which became a “silent black number” (referring to underestimated figures).
These groups stated that according to the current relevant Taiwan laws and regulations, it is only mentioned that employers “have” to introduce counseling or medical resources to victims, but the law does not force employers to provide substantive assistance or services. Therefore, victims of sexual harassment usually can only explore solutions alone, and most of them choose to give up the complaint or go private.
Dai Jingyun, director of the legal department of the Taiwan Women’s New Knowledge Foundation, emphasized at the press conference that the current “Gender Equality in Work Act” in Taiwan puts the investigation responsibility on the employer, but if the perpetrator of sexual harassment is the employer, he will become a player and referee. One big loophole.
In addition, taking the case of a female party worker surnamed Chen from the Democratic Progressive Party as an example, when the perpetrator is a customer or partner of the employer, such as an outsourcing manufacturer, it is difficult for the employer to investigate or punish according to law. Dai Jingyun said that the current regulations on the prevention and control of sexual harassment are complicated, and it is not only difficult for the public to understand the laws, but also disputes often arise in legal practice.
Wang Yuehao, CEO of the Taiwan Lixin Foundation, said at a press conference that according to the “Gender Violence Survey” they completed in 2021, 25% of Taiwanese people will file a complaint with their workplace when they encounter sexual harassment in the workplace. However, 50% of cases cannot be settled because of insufficient evidence.
Women’s rights groups call on the Taiwan government to incorporate the care and service mechanism for sexual harassment in the workplace into the “Gender Work Equality Act” as soon as possible, so that people who have suffered sexual harassment in the workplace can obtain legal consultation, psychological counseling, and social worker assistance in accordance with the law.