Former representative to the Philippines Michael Hsu (徐佩勇) yesterday denied accusations that he sexually assaulted a local employee during his tenure in Manila.
Lawyer Yen Wen-cheng (顏文正) said on behalf of Hsu in a statement that the accusation by an anonymous whistle-blower was “not true” and “slanderous.”
The allegation has “seriously marred [Hsu’s] reputation,” hence the defamation lawsuit against the whistle-blower and any media that reported the matter without verification, Yen said in a statement addressed to “chief editors and journalists with all the media organizations.”
Photo: Taipei Times file
He was referring to a whistle-blower who on Friday in a post on a Taiwanese online forum accused Hsu of forcibly undressing and touching his secretary inappropriately, among other unwanted sexual advances at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines.
The employee, who worked at the de facto Taiwanese embassy in Manila, lodged multiple complaints against Hsu, but they were never addressed, the post said.
It did not elaborate on how the employee had filed the complaints and whether it was lodged with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Yen, without elaborating, said Hsu acknowledged that he had made “remarks that made the worker uncomfortable.”
Hsu had apologized to the employee and his apology had been accepted, Yen said.
Hsu started as envoy to the Philippines in June 2018.
The ministry said in a press release on Friday that it had opened an investigation into allegations of sexual assault against Hsu.
Hsu was transferred back to Taiwan shortly after the ministry learned of the allegations in April, it said.
The ministry did not comment on the accusations against Hsu in its statement, which was released hours after the post began attracting media attention.
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