A Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) spokesperson on Sunday defended against accusations of objectification following criticism over sexualized flight attendant outfits worn by dancers at a campaign event.
The controversial dancers performed on Saturday at the inaugural event of a women’s campaign support group for TPP Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) in Taipei.
The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union in a statement condemned the “terrible objectification and sexualization” of flight attendants and demanded an apology from Ko and TPP Taipei City Councilor Chang Chih-hao (張志豪), a former pilot who organized the performance.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Less than a week before, the union had delivered a petition to the National Human Rights Commission calling for a ban on discriminatory dress code requirements for female flight attendants among Taiwan’s major airlines, which still mandate pencil skirts and enforce appearance rules.
Ko’s campaign spokeswoman Chen Chih-han (陳智菡) said that the performers were part of a professional dance troupe that chose the outfits based on the theme of the dance.
“There was no intention whatsoever of disrespecting or objectifying any profession,” she added.
People these days are finding fault with Ko at every turn, she said, asking whether the troupe would also be accused of disrespecting Japanese or Korean people if they wore kimonos or hanbok.
“No organization or individual has the right to demand an apology for exhibiting one’s bodily autonomy,” Chen added.
Chang also defended the performance, saying the organizers wanted to hold an event that showcases beauty.
“That’s a good thing,” he said. “There was no objectification of women. Everyone is reading too much into it.”
TRAGEDY: An expert said that the incident was uncommon as the chance of a ground crew member being sucked into an IDF engine was ‘minuscule’ A master sergeant yesterday morning died after she was sucked into an engine during a routine inspection of a fighter jet at an air base in Taichung, the Air Force Command Headquarters said. The officer, surnamed Hu (胡), was conducting final landing checks at Ching Chuan Kang (清泉崗) Air Base when she was pulled into the jet’s engine for unknown reasons, the air force said in a news release. She was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment, but could not be revived, it said. The air force expressed its deepest sympathies over the incident, and vowed to work with authorities as they
A tourist who was struck and injured by a train in a scenic area of New Taipei City’s Pingsi District (平溪) on Monday might be fined for trespassing on the tracks, the Railway Police Bureau said yesterday. The New Taipei City Fire Department said it received a call at 4:37pm on Monday about an incident in Shifen (十分), a tourist destination on the Pingsi Railway Line. After arriving on the scene, paramedics treated a woman in her 30s for a 3cm to 5cm laceration on her head, the department said. She was taken to a hospital in Keelung, it said. Surveillance footage from a
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS