Female Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) politicians and officials yesterday jointly condemned the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for what they called sexist and demeaning comments against women over the past week, urging voters to reject the “party of chauvinist pigs” in the Jan. 11 presidential and legislative elections.
“KMT politicians are resorting to insulting women to bolster their campaigns. I urge all women to not vote for the KMT to prevent gender equality from regressing several decades,” DPP Taipei City Councilor Chien Hsu-pei (簡舒培) told a news conference at DPP headquarters in Taipei.
She said that she has launched a drive calling for people to “reject the chauvinist pigs of the KMT,” which had already gained much support on social media.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
“KMT Chairman Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) disparaged President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) as an ‘ill-starred woman’ (衰尾查某) who has brought Taiwan misfortune, displaying his chauvinist attitude in maligning the nation’s leader,” Chien said.
“If we continue to tolerate such talk by Wu and the KMT, then we are condoning men discriminating against women in the future. Therefore, we ask all women and victims of discrimination to reject the KMT in the upcoming elections,” she said.
DPP Women Affairs Department director Tsai Wan-fen (蔡宛芬) said that people should take a harder line on the matter, because KMT politicians have not apologized, but rather have hidden behind excuses for their derogatory comments.
“People should not cast ballots for the KMT, a party of male chauvinist pigs,” she said.
DPP spokeswoman Tai Wei-shan (戴瑋姍) said that many KMT politicians have been using sexist and insulting comments against women, adding: “We have had enough of it and our society should not ignore it.”
“Taiwan has made much progress, but the poison of male chauvinism remains. We must sweep it away into the dustbin of history and restore a clean campaign environment for future generations,” Tai said.
After decades of struggle, Taiwan has made good progress on women participating in politics, yet KMT politicians still comment about female politicians in disrespectful ways, DPP Legislator Karen Yu (余宛如) said, describing such abuse as akin to “nuclear waste.”
Separately yesterday, former United Communications Group chairwoman Sandra Yu (余湘), the People First Party’s (PFP) vice presidential candidate, and PFP legislator-at-large nominees Amanda Liu (劉宥彤) and Evelyn Tsai (蔡沁瑜) also condemned verbal abuse against women.
PFP spokeswoman Belle Yu (于美人) said in a Facebook livestream that gender equality should not lead to gender-based conflict.
Verbal abuse is a common cause of psychological damage and politicians must stop all and any kind of verbal abuse, including discriminatory language, she said.
“Women should stand up for themselves and utterly reject such language and its implications,” Belle Yu said.
“We must stop discriminatory language against women to create a truly gender-equal society,” Liu said.
It is common to have a slip of the tongue, but someone must stand up and tell those who habitually disparage and deride women that “they are wrong,” Liu said, adding that she hoped everyone would cherish Taiwan’s efforts to establish a gender-equal society.
“These types of remarks are common during elections. Politicians need to realize that their comments are not only hurting women, but also setting the worst sort of example for Taiwan,” Evelyn Tsai said.
TYPHOON: The storm’s path indicates a high possibility of Krathon making landfall in Pingtung County, depending on when the storm turns north, the CWA said Typhoon Krathon is strengthening and is more likely to make landfall in Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said in a forecast released yesterday afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the CWA’s updated sea warning for Krathon showed that the storm was about 430km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point. It was moving in west-northwest at 9kph, with maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts of up to 155kph, CWA data showed. Krathon is expected to move further west before turning north tomorrow, CWA forecaster Wu Wan-hua (伍婉華) said. The CWA’s latest forecast and other countries’ projections of the storm’s path indicate a higher
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
TYPHOON DAY: Taitung, Pingtung, Tainan, Chiayi, Hualien and Kaohsiung canceled work and classes today. The storm is to start moving north this afternoon The outer rim of Typhoon Krathon made landfall in Taitung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春半島) at about noon yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, adding that the eye of the storm was expected to hit land tomorrow. The CWA at 2:30pm yesterday issued a land alert for Krathon after issuing a sea alert on Sunday. It also expanded the scope of the sea alert to include waters north of Taiwan Strait, in addition to its south, from the Bashi Channel to the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島). As of 6pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 160km south of
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
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