The Taoyuan Flight Attendants’ Union yesterday accused the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) of “sexualizing and objectifying” female flight attendants with a dance routine at a campaign event for party chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) on Sunday.
The union said in a statement that the flight attendant outfits worn by the dancers — dubbed “the stewardess support team” by organizers — increased the risk of sexual harassment for female cabin crew.
It called on Ko and TPP Taipei City Councilor Chang Chih-hau (張志豪), a former pilot who helped arrange the performance, to apologize for the dance, which it said compounded the difficulties and sexism faced by female flight attendants.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
The union said that airlines made the sexualization and objectification of female flight attendants “a selling point” by forcing cabin crew to wear impractical and tight-fitting uniforms that are designed to be revealing.
Former union secretary-general Liu Chia-wei (林佳瑋) said the performance left her “heartbroken.”
Chang said that the TPP had never sought to objectify women, pointing the finger at the organizers of Sunday’s rally, saying they should be responsible for explaining the dancers’ outfits.
TPP spokeswoman Lin Tzu-yu (林子宇) said her party respects all vocations, as well as the professional judgement of the dancers involved in the performance.
Ko’s campaign spokeswoman, Chen Chih-han (陳智菡), said the performers were part of a professional dance troupe that chose the outfits based on the theme of the performance.
“There was no intention whatsoever of disrespecting or objectifying any profession,” she added.
People these days are seeking to find fault with Ko at every turn, she said, asking whether the troupe would also be accused of disrespecting Japanese or Koreans if they wore kimonos or hanbok.
“No organization or person has the right to demand an apology for exhibiting one’s bodily autonomy,” she added.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS