Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday said he has instructed government agencies to propose revisions to three major laws to better address the issue of sexual abuse and harassment, as allegations of sexual misconduct spread across the political field.
The three laws are: the Act of Gender Equality in Employment (性別工作平等法), the Gender Equality Education Act (性別平等教育法) and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法).
“No one wants to see sexual harassment occur, and proposed amendments would be ready at the start of the next legislative session [in September]. We hope to have the support of lawmakers across party lines to prevent further personal harm, assist the victims, safeguard them and protect their rights,” Chen said.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
In the latest development, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Taipei City Councilor Chung Pei-chun (鍾沛君) on Thursday night accused media personality Lucifer Chu (朱學恒) of forcibly hugging and kissing her during a dinner gathering in Taipei in August last year.
She said as she had pursued the matter, Chu wrote an official apology two weeks later.
A political commentator, Chu is a popular YouTuber and frequent guest on political talk shows.
Chu yesterday said he had suspended his YouTube channel and that he would stop appearing in media and public events for the time being.
He apologized, but said he was too drunk at the time and had no memory of what happened that night.
Separately, New Power Party member Jerry Liu (劉仕傑) was accused by a former party staffer of grabbing her in a vehicle, forcibly kissing her and pulling her hand to touch his private parts.
NPP Chairwoman Claire Wang (王婉諭) issued a public apology yesterday, saying: “We are sorry we did not know about this and for allowing this deplorable person to participate in public affairs and giving him a platform for public discourse.”
The NPP later yesterday said it received a statement from Liu that he was withdrawing from the party.
As of press time last night, Liu had not responded to the accusations.
State-run Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute chairman and prominent film critic Lan Tsu-wei (藍祖蔚) on Thursday was also accused by Taiwan-based Korean Studies Academy CEO Rick Chu (朱立熙) of repeatedly sexually harassing female reporters.
Taipei City Councilor Lee Yen-hsiu (李彥秀) of the KMT told a news conference yesterday that Lan, being a top figure in the film and cultural sector who is highly regarded and respected in society, must adhere to standards of morality and behavior.
Lan denied the allegations, but tendered his resignation, “because I don’t want to become cannon fodder in the political struggle.”
National Kaohsiung University of Science and Technology (NKUST) yesterday promised it would increase oversight of use of Chinese in course materials, following a social media outcry over instances of simplified Chinese characters being used, including in a final exam. People on Threads wrote that simplified Chinese characters were used on a final exam and in a textbook for a translation course at the university, while the business card of a professor bore the words: “Taiwan Province, China.” Photographs of the exam, the textbook and the business card were posted with the comments. NKUST said that other members of the faculty did not see
The Taipei City Government yesterday said contractors organizing its New Year’s Eve celebrations would be held responsible after a jumbo screen played a Beijing-ran television channel near the event’s end. An image showing China Central Television (CCTV) Channel 3 being displayed was posted on the social media platform Threads, sparking an outcry on the Internet over Beijing’s alleged political infiltration of the municipal government. A Taipei Department of Information and Tourism spokesman said event workers had made a “grave mistake” and that the Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) group had the contract to operate the screens. The city would apply contractual penalties on TVBS
A new board game set against the backdrop of armed conflict around Taiwan is to be released next month, amid renewed threats from Beijing, inviting players to participate in an imaginary Chinese invasion 20 years from now. China has ramped up military activity close to Taiwan in the past few years, including massing naval forces around the nation. The game, titled 2045, tasks players with navigating the troubles of war using colorful action cards and role-playing as characters involved in operations 10 days before a fictional Chinese invasion of Taiwan. That includes members of the armed forces, Chinese sleeper agents and pro-China politicians
The lowest temperature in a low-lying area recorded early yesterday morning was in Miaoli County’s Gongguan Township (公館), at 6.8°C, due to a strong cold air mass and the effect of radiative cooling, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. In other areas, Chiayi’s East District (東區) recorded a low of 8.2°C and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾) recorded 8.5°C, CWA data showed. The cold air mass was at its strongest from Saturday night to the early hours of yesterday. It brought temperatures down to 9°C to 11°C in areas across the nation and the outlying Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties,
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