National Development Council (NDC) Deputy Minister Chiou Jiunn-rong (邱俊榮) yesterday resigned after allegations that he had taken photographs of a 22-year-old woman’s legs without her consent at a Taipei MRT station on Saturday.
Chiou yesterday apologized to the public and described it as an “honest mistake,” saying he accidentally took the photos while trying to call one of his friends.
He said he immediately deleted the photos and apologized to the woman, surnamed Chen (陳).
Chiou made the comments after someone identified him on the online discussion page “Baoliao Commune” as the one who allegedly took several photos of a woman’s legs at Ximen MRT Station.
The woman caught the man and demanded that they delete the photos, the netizen said.
Meanwhile, Taipei police said that the victim has reported the case to police at Ximending (西門町) and that they would summon the accused to clarify the accusation made against him.
They are checking CCTV footage from the station, police said.
In a statement last night, NDC Minister Chen Mei-ling (陳美伶) said that she has approved Chiou’s resignation and reported the incident to Premier William Lai (賴清德).
According to the Criminal Code (刑法), a person can only be charged if they have photographed another person’s private parts, lawyer Chen Chao-chuan (陳昭全) said.
According to Article 315-1 of the Criminal Code, a person can be sentenced to a maximum of three years in prison, short-term imprisonment or a maximum fine of NT$300,000 if they are found guilty of using “audio recording, photographic, visual taping or electromagnetic means without reason to record other’s non-public activities, speeches, talks or private body parts.”
Clinical observations have shown that people with high stress levels and who are sexually impulsive are likely to take photos of others without their consent, Tri-Service General Hospital psychiatrist Yang Tsung-tsai (楊聰財) said.
Taking photos up a woman’s skirt would be a way of relieving their stress or sexual urges, he said.
If conditions worsen and the people do not receive treatment, they have a 75 percent chance of committing the offense again, he said, adding that when this sort of behavior persists for more than six months, it is typically considered a mental disorder.
SEPARATE: The MAC rebutted Beijing’s claim that Taiwan is China’s province, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 neither mentions Taiwan nor grants the PRC authority over it The “status quo” of democratic Taiwan and autocratic China not belonging to each other has long been recognized by the international community, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday in its rebuttal of Beijing’s claim that Taiwan can only be represented in the UN as “Taiwan, Province of China.” Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) yesterday at a news conference of the third session at the 14th National People’s Congress said that Taiwan can only be referred to as “Taiwan, Province of China” at the UN. Taiwan is an inseparable part of Chinese territory, which is not only history but
NATIONAL SECURITY: The Chinese influencer shared multiple videos on social media in which she claimed Taiwan is a part of China and supported its annexation Freedom of speech does not allow comments by Chinese residents in Taiwan that compromise national security or social stability, the nation’s top officials said yesterday, after the National Immigration Agency (NIA) revoked the residency permit of a Chinese influencer who published videos advocating China annexing Taiwan by force. Taiwan welcomes all foreigners to settle here and make families so long as they “love the land and people of Taiwan,” Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told lawmakers during a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei. The public power of the government must be asserted when necessary and the Ministry of
CROSSED A LINE: While entertainers working in China have made pro-China statements before, this time it seriously affected the nation’s security and interests, a source said The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) late on Saturday night condemned the comments of Taiwanese entertainers who reposted Chinese statements denigrating Taiwan’s sovereignty. The nation’s cross-strait affairs authority issued the statement after several Taiwanese entertainers, including Patty Hou (侯佩岑), Ouyang Nana (歐陽娜娜) and Michelle Chen (陳妍希), on Friday and Saturday shared on their respective Sina Weibo (微博) accounts a post by state broadcaster China Central Television. The post showed an image of a map of Taiwan along with the five stars of the Chinese flag, and the message: “Taiwan is never a country. It never was and never will be.” The post followed remarks
Proposed amendments would forbid the use of all personal electronic devices during school hours in high schools and below, starting from the next school year in August, the Ministry of Education said on Monday. The Regulations on the Use of Mobile Devices at Educational Facilities up to High Schools (高級中等以下學校校園行動載具使用原則) state that mobile devices — defined as mobile phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches or other wearables — should be turned off at school. The changes would stipulate that use of such devices during class is forbidden, and the devices should be handed to a teacher or the school for safekeeping. The amendments also say
RSS