Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) and Fan Yun (范雲) yesterday urged the Ministry of Labor to review gender equality laws to protect workers, following a sexual harassment scandal at a chocolate company.
At a news conference at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, the lawmakers called for amending the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別工作平等法).
The amendment highlights a case in which former Fu Wan Chocolate president Hsu Feng-chia (許峰嘉) in 2015 was sentenced to six months in prison, which was commuted to a fine.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
The issue was brought to light again after an Internet user last month posted about the case on the Dcard forum, resulting in other people announcing they would boycott Fu Wan Chocolate.
Hung said yesterday that the existing act does not stipulate the process for investigating an employer as the perpetrator in a case, adding that the act leads to that employer also being the judge, jury and executioner, which discourages victims from filing complaints “through the system.”
The amendment would address the issue by allowing victims to appeal to local authorities when an employer or company manager is the harasser, Hung said.
If the charges are substantiated, the accused would face a fine of up to NT$1 million, Hung added.
The amendment is waiting to be reviewed by the Legislative Yuan’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee, he said.
Fan said that Fu Wan Chocolate is the first instance of a company’s products being boycotted due to a sexual harassment case.
The public has different expectations for companies, Fan added.
The Fu Wan Chocolate incident, along with the 2018 Google employee walkouts due to the Internet company’s handling of sexual harassment cases, demonstrates that sexual harassment is an important issue, National Taipei University law professor Kuo Ling-hwei (郭玲惠) told reporters.
Later yesterday, the ministry responded by saying that the act has its current wording because it also applies to military personnel, civil servants and educators.
Panels of experts and local labor office officials would be convened to discuss what changes should be made, the ministry added.
This story has been amended since it was first published.
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
UNREASONABLE SURVEILLANCE: A camera targeted on an road by a neighbor captured a man’s habitual unsignaled turn into home, netting him dozens of tickets The Taichung High Administrative Court has canceled all 45 tickets given to a man for failing to use a turn signal while driving, as it considered long-term surveillance of his privacy more problematic than the traffic violations. The man, surnamed Tseng (曾), lives in Changhua County and was reported 45 times within a month for failing to signal while driving when he turned into the alley where his residence is. The reports were filed by his neighbor, who set up security cameras that constantly monitored not only the alley but also the door and yard of Tseng’s house. The surveillance occurred from July
A Japan Self-Defense Forces vessel entered the Taiwan Strait yesterday, Japanese media reported. After passing through the Taiwan Strait, the Ikazuchi was to proceed to the South China Sea to take part in a joint military exercise with the US and the Philippines, the reports said. Japan Self-Defense Force vessels were first reported to have passed through the strait in September, 2024, with two further transits taking place in February and June last year, the Asahi Shimbun reported. Yesterday’s transit also marked the first time since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office that a Japanese warship has been sent through the Taiwan
‘SAME OLD TRICK’: Even if Beijing resumes individual travel to Taiwan, it would only benefit Chinese tourism companies, the Economic Democracy Union convener said China’s 10 new “incentives” are “sugar-coated poison,” an official said yesterday, adding that Taiwanese businesses see them clearly for what they are, but that Beijing would inevitably find some local collaborators to try to drums up support. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remark ahead of a news conference the General Chamber of Commerce is to hold today. The event, titled “Industry Perspectives on China’s Recent Pro-Taiwan Policies,” is expected to include representatives from industry associations — such as those in travel, hotels, food and agriculture — to request the government cooperate with China’s new measures, people familiar with
RSS