Four interns who have accused Wang Ming-yuan (
The alleged victims have filed a written complaint with the party's central headquarters, but refuse to speak in public.
The four interns held a press conference yesterday to air the new allegations on the pair's behalf.
According to the interns, Wang invited one of the young women to dinner on March 5. Afterwards, he allegedly touched her hands and tried to kiss her forcibly when he gave the woman a ride home.
During the ride, Wang reportedly told the woman, "I haven't dated young chicks for a long time" and asked for a "closer intimacy."
The woman managed to brush Wang off by saying she was having her period and had another appointment with friends, the interns said.
The woman later reported the incident verbally to a party official. But after the complaint was made, the interns alleged, Wang found out about the accusation and asked the woman to sign an agreement to "deny everything on the grounds of political interference."
The second alleged victim says that Wang repeatedly called and asked her to attend a late-night dinner after a party gathering one night.
When the woman reluctantly attended the dinner, Wang repeatedly reached out to hold hands.
After the woman arrived home that night, Wang kept calling her and left several messages on her mobile phone late into the night.
The four interns, who earlier this weekend made public similar charges of sexual harassment against Wang, said yesterday that all they sought from the DPP official was a public apology.
Wang on Monday was removed from his position as director of youth development until the allegations against him can be resolved.
Ho Bih-jen (何碧珍), director of the party's department of women's development and a speaker at yesterday's press conference, apologized to the alleged victims on the behalf of the DPP and her department for having allowed the matter to escalate and become public.
Ho also promised that the party's complaints committee would reach a final ruling as soon as possible.
In related matters, Wang yesterday admitted that he had authorized the tape-recording of a conversation between his accusers and a male DPP staff member who was helping the women file their complaint.
"Having been set up, I have to defend myself. It's a natural thing to do," he said.
Apparently, neither the women nor the DPP staff member were aware that their phone conversation was being recorded.
Wang's wife, Lee Shu-feng (李淑芬), who is two months' pregnant, yesterday issued a written statement, saying that the accusers had lied and that justice must prevail.
Lee said that Wang had treated the interns as brothers and sisters, but in return the accusers had hurt her family by "lying to destroy" her husband.
Addressing the media and her husband's accusers, she said, "Won't you feel sorry for the rest of your lives?"
RSS