Former representatives to the Philippines and Thailand faced disciplinary action after the government said that sexual harassment allegations against them were credible, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Former representative to the Philippines Michael Hsu (徐佩勇) was given a major demerit after the ministry’s sexual harassment complaint review committee found that an allegation against him from his tenure in Manila was credible, ministry spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) said.
A major demerit generally affects a career diplomat’s year-end bonuses.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The committee also found a similar allegation against former representative to Thailand Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢) to be credible, but the ministry could not discipline him directly, as he was a political appointee rather than a career diplomat, Liu added.
Instead, Chuang’s case is to be referred to the Control Yuan, which is responsible for investigating and censuring illegal or negligent acts by public servants or agencies, Liu said.
Hsu, who became representative to the Philippines in June 2018, was recalled shortly after the ministry learned about the accusation against him in April, the ministry previously said.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
According to an online forum post that was uploaded prior to the recall, Hsu allegedly inappropriately hugged and kissed his Filipina secretary, who started working at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines last year.
Hsu, through his lawyer, has denied the accusations.
His position has since been filled by Wallace Chow (周民淦), former head of the ministry’s Department of East Asia and Pacific Affairs, while Hsu now works at the ministry’s Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs in Taipei.
Chuang, who was Taiwan’s top envoy to Bangkok from June last year to June this year, allegedly held his female secretary’s hands tightly during a car ride to northern Thailand in December last year while on a business trip.
He also allegedly asked her to meet him in his hotel room during the trip, but she declined, local media reports said.
The secretary later reported the incident to the representative office, which ultimately led to Chuang’s resignation.
Chuang has denied engaging in sexual harassment.
Chuang’s position has been filled by former representative to Myanmar Chang Chun-fu (張俊福).
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
RSS