As Taiwan’s #MeToo movement continues, more accusations of sexual harassment have been made against people in the fields of academia, politics and entertainment.
In response to accusations made against National Taiwan Normal University’s (NTNU) Department of Graphic Arts and Communications associate professor Chiu Yu-ping (邱于平), the university yesterday said it received new evidence and has relaunched an investigation, while a gender equity committee meeting would be held this month.
Chiu was accused of rubbing the neck, shoulders, lower stomach and hips of female students in his office, as well as putting his hand inside their clothes to touch their bra straps.
Photo: Yang Mien-chieh, Taipei Times
This led to one of the students being afraid of walking to the department building alone, and seeking psychiatric help and anxiety medication, the university said.
The case was reported to NTNU’s gender equity committee on Dec. 2 last year, and an official application for an investigation was filed on Dec. 19 last year.
One of the students said that after the university’s first investigation, it in April recommended that the department suspend Chiu from teaching required courses and his position as a mentor teacher.
However, he was still allowed to teach elective courses this semester, which could have led to more assault cases, she said, adding that students petitioned for a reinvestigation.
NTNU said it would carefully look into the claims, according to the principle of the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, but not letting the guilty off the hook, to ensure students have a safe learning environment on campus.
Meanwhile, several female students launched an online page for alleged victims of former National Taiwan University (NTU) sociology assistant professor Lee Ming-tsung (李明璁) to gather, as they accused him of having romantic relations with students.
The NTU Department of Sociology yesterday said it had reported the claims to the university’s gender equity committee.
Lee wrote on Facebook that he had not used his position of power as a professor to form imbalanced relationships, but due to public concerns, he would resign from his teaching duties.
Separately, a woman who said she worked in Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Lai Hsiang-ling’s (賴香伶) office on Saturday wrote on Facebook that TPP Legislator Chiu Chen-yuan (邱臣遠) had sexually harassed her.
Chiu “placed his hand on my left hand, which was on my thigh,” she said.
Lai was present at the time, but did not stop him or deal with his behavior, she said.
Chiu responded on Facebook yesterday, saying that he does not know the woman, and that he has always abided by principles of workplace gender equality and never stepped over the line.
He said he would reserve the right to take legal action for alleged defamation.
Lin wrote on Facebook yesterday that the woman seemed to be a Social Democratic Party member, and that her sexual harassment allegation was a smear campaign against the TPP.
A lawyer yesterday said that if the woman is a victim of sexual harassment, that Lai revealed her identity could be considered a contravention of the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法).
Also yesterday, actor Chris Wang (宥勝) apologized on Facebook after two members of staff accused him of having sexually harassed them, including licking ears, taking off their bras, embracing them and rubbing their chests.
Additional reporting by Lee Shao-ling
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard
BOOST TO SPORTS? The Executive Yuan said that the amendment was introduced to attract professionals to Taiwan, and increase the incentives for naturalization The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed on third reading an amendment to the Nationality Act (國籍法) that would reduce the minimum residency period required for highly skilled professionals to apply for naturalization from three to two continuous years, with a minimum of 183 days in Taiwan each year. The 183-day requirement does not apply if an eligible applicant has lived legally in the territory of the Republic of China for more than five continuous years. Taiwan’s professional basketball leagues are expected to benefit from the amendments, which would allow them to recruit more players from overseas. Prior to the passage of the amendment, the
REPORT: Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining loitering munitions matching the AeroVironment Switchblade 300 or the Anduril Altius-600, ‘Foreign Policy’ said Taiwan is seeking US-made kamikaze drones in an apparent concession to pressure from Washington to focus on asymmetric capabilities to defeat or deter a Chinese attack, Foreign Policy said in a report on Wednesday. Taipei has expressed an interest in obtaining AeroVironment Switchblade loitering munitions or other devices with similar capabilities, it said, citing four sources familiar with the matter commenting on condition of anonymity. The Switchblade 300 is a tube-launched drone designed for attacking ground troops, while its larger sibling, the Switchblade 600, could be used to destroy tanks and entrenched troops. Ukraine has utilized both systems extensively in its fight against