Former representatives to the Philippines and Thailand faced disciplinary action after the government said that sexual harassment allegations against them were credible, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Former representative to the Philippines Michael Hsu (徐佩勇) was given a major demerit after the ministry’s sexual harassment complaint review committee found that an allegation against him from his tenure in Manila was credible, ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said.
A major demerit generally affects a career diplomat’s year-end bonuses.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The committee also found a similar allegation against former representative to Thailand Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢) to be credible, but the ministry could not discipline him directly, as he was a political appointee rather than a career diplomat, Liu added.
Instead, Chuang’s case is to be referred to the Control Yuan, which is responsible for investigating and censuring illegal or negligent acts by public servants or agencies, Liu said.
Hsu, who became representative to the Philippines in June 2018, was recalled shortly after the ministry learned about the accusation against him in April, the ministry previously said.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
According to an online forum post that was uploaded prior to the recall, Hsu allegedly inappropriately hugged and kissed his Filipina secretary, who started working at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines last year.
Hsu, through his lawyer, has denied the accusations.
His position has since been filled by Wallace Chow (周民淦), former head of the ministry’s Department of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, while Hsu now works at the ministry’s Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs in Taipei.
Chuang, who was Taiwan’s top envoy to Bangkok from June last year to June this year, allegedly held his female secretary’s hands tightly during a car ride to northern Thailand in December last year while on a business trip.
He also allegedly asked her to meet him in his hotel room during the trip, but she declined, local media reports said.
The secretary later reported the incident to the representative office, which ultimately led to Chuang’s resignation.
Chuang has denied engaging in sexual harassment.
Chuang’s position has been filled by former representative to Myanmar Chang Chun-fu (張俊福).
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
CHANGE OF MIND: The Chinese crew at first showed a willingness to cooperate, but later regretted that when the ship arrived at the port and refused to enter Togolese Republic-registered Chinese freighter Hong Tai (宏泰號) and its crew have been detained on suspicion of deliberately damaging a submarine cable connecting Taiwan proper and Penghu County, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement yesterday. The case would be subject to a “national security-level investigation” by the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office, it added. The administration said that it had been monitoring the ship since 7:10pm on Saturday when it appeared to be loitering in waters about 6 nautical miles (11km) northwest of Tainan’s Chiang Chun Fishing Port, adding that the ship’s location was about 0.5 nautical miles north of the No.
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
RSS