The National Communications Commission has referred an online video mocking nurses to an Internet protection agency to determine if the person who made it violated the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法) or other regulations.
Chen Jui-ming (陳睿明) posted a video on Facebook complaining about an incident at a hospital that occurred after he asked a nurse to change his grandfather’s intravenous fluid bag.
He said that the nurse was rude and insisted that he address her as “registered nurse” (護理師) rather than “licensed practical nurse” (護士).
A registered nurse has a college or university degree, whereas a licensed practical nurse does not, although both are licensed nurses, according to the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
“Nobody cares if you are a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse,” Chen said in the video.
He also called nurses “a bunch of stinky bitches” and “oviducts,” and asked if offering sexual assistance was part of their jobs as well.
The video went viral and drew a backlash from the ministry and nursing professionals.
Chen yesterday refused to apologize, but said he would donate money to the Chensenmei Social Welfare Foundation if his video generates profits.
The commission yesterday said that it has turned the video over to the Institute of Watch Internet Network (iWin), a government-sponsored agency handling public complaints related to online content and relaying the complaints to government agencies.
The institute would examine the video and could hand it over to other government agencies if it finds it in potential contravention of regulations governing children and youth protection, the commission said.
The institute would also discuss possible ways of handling the video with online platform operators, it said.
“The government respects comments made by individuals online as long as they abide by the restrictions defined by the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act, the Criminal Code, Personal Information Protection Act (個人資料保護法) and all other applicable government regulations,” the commission said.
“In a free and democratic society, laws in the real world can be applied to regulate radical and harmful commentaries circulated on online platforms. These hurtful comments would also be corrected by the public, which is entitled to respond to those comments as well,” it said.
Taiwan Nursing and Medical Industries Union chairperson Chen Yu-feng (陳玉鳳) and a lawyer Monday went to the Ciaotou District Prosecutors’ Office to file a lawsuit against Chen.
The union said the video clearly and openly insulted nurses and their profession, and the union would not tolerate such behavior.
The union called on netizens not to make abusive comments under the video or share it with other people, as such actions might serve Chen’s goal of becoming an Internet celebrity, or they could be used by him to file countersuits.
The union also urged nurses who were “disgusted” by the video to file lawsuits against Chen.
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