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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS