Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative candidate Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) on Tuesday dropped out of the race following controversy around the party’s handling of a sexual assault allegation last year.
At a news conference called in the afternoon, the former DPP deputy secretary-general apologized for the turmoil caused by the controversy, saying he decided to withdraw from the election to ensure that the focus remains on reform, not politics.
“The outbreak of these incidents represents a long-standing issue in society, but it is also an opportunity to collectively relearn,” he said. “I hope my withdrawal from the election will stop the movement from being disturbed by political attacks and focus attention on systemic reform.”
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
On May 31, a former DPP employee accused Hsu Chia-tien (許嘉恬), then-leader of the party’s Women's Development Department, of ignoring and belittling her report of sexual harassment by a director hired to shoot a video for the party.
The DPP’s Gender Equality Committee conducted an investigation into the matter, and on Friday last week announced it found Hsu had acted inappropriately.
Although the committee found no fault with Lin’s conduct, as it was Hsu’s responsibility to report the incident to him, he told the news conference on Tuesday that he should be held to high standards as supervisor of the department and assume responsibility.
The Sunflower movement leader had announced his bid two weeks ago to represent Taipei’s Zhongshan (中山) and northern Songshan (松山) electoral district.
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) and Chunghwa Telecom yesterday confirmed that an international undersea cable near Keelung Harbor had been cut by a Chinese ship, the Shunxin-39, a freighter registered in Cameroon. Chunghwa Telecom said the cable had its own backup equipment, and the incident would not affect telecommunications within Taiwan. The CGA said it dispatched a ship under its first fleet after receiving word of the incident and located the Shunxin-39 7 nautical miles (13km) north of Yehliu (野柳) at about 4:40pm on Friday. The CGA demanded that the Shunxin-39 return to seas closer to Keelung Harbor for investigation over the
An apartment building in New Taipei City’s Sanchong District (三重) collapsed last night after a nearby construction project earlier in the day allegedly caused it to tilt. Shortly after work began at 9am on an ongoing excavation of a construction site on Liuzhang Street (六張街), two neighboring apartment buildings tilted and cracked, leading to exterior tiles peeling off, city officials said. The fire department then dispatched personnel to help evacuate 22 residents from nine households. After the incident, the city government first filled the building at No. 190, which appeared to be more badly affected, with water to stabilize the
EARTHQUAKE: Taipei and New Taipei City accused a construction company of ignoring the Circular MRT’s original design, causing sections to shift by up to 92cm The Taipei and New Taipei City governments yesterday said they would seek NT$1.93 billion (US$58.6 million) in compensation from the company responsible for building the Circular MRT Line, following damage sustained during an earthquake in April last year that had shuttered a section for months. BES Engineering Corp, a listed company under Core Pacific Group, was accused of ignoring the original design when constructing the MRT line, resulting in negative shear strength resistance and causing sections of the rail line between Jhonghe (中和) and Banciao (板橋) districts to shift by up to 92cm during the April 3 earthquake. The pot bearings on
DEEPER REVIEW: After receiving 19 hospital reports of suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health applied for an epidemiological investigation A buffet restaurant in Taipei’s Xinyi District (信義) is to be fined NT$3 million (US$91,233) after it remained opened despite an order to suspend operations following reports that 32 people had been treated for suspected food poisoning, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. The health department said it on Tuesday received reports from hospitals of people who had suspected food poisoning symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, stomach pain and diarrhea, after they ate at an INPARADISE (饗饗) branch in Breeze Xinyi on Sunday and Monday. As more than six people who ate at the restaurant sought medical treatment, the department ordered the
RSS