Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) on Thursday criticized the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for not withdrawing Legislator Chen Hsueh-sheng’s (陳雪生) nomination ahead of elections next year after a court ruled that he had harassed Fan during a scuffle inside the legislature in Taipei in 2020.
Fan said that the KMT — which on Wednesday released the results of its internal investigation of the matter — had deceived the public by promising to “apply the highest standard regarding sexual harassment cases.”
The KMT’s decision to permit Chen to retain his nomination to run in the legislative race for Lienchiang County was “nauseating” and “a big joke,” Fan said.
Photo: Taipei Times
The High Court earlier this month upheld a ruling against Chen and ordered him to pay NT$80,000 in compensation after Fan filed a civil lawsuit against him for bumping her from behind three times as lawmakers jostled inside the legislative chamber.
The court reached its decision after viewing videos of the incident and hearing the accounts of other lawmakers, with some saying that they heard Chen comment: “It is not sexual harassment, as you cannot get pregnant from [being bumped by] a belly.”
The KMT in its report on Wednesday ordered Chen to attend a gender equality course, but said he would retain his nomination as “he did not contravene any party rules for candidates.”
“The incident occurred amid a physical altercation, during which it would have been impossible to avoid contact with others,” it said.
“I was the victim of Chen’s sexual harassment and the KMT’s decision is a big joke,” Fan wrote online. “It claims to apply the highest standards, but in reality it applied the highest level of tolerance.”
“It is nauseating,” she wrote. “The court ruled that he was culpable.”
“The KMT’s decision harms the reputation of members of the legislature,” she added.
DPP Legislator Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) said that the KMT has double standards.
“It is concerned about political issues, so it can condone a sexual harassment offender,” Hung said.
KMT Legislator Wang Hung-wei (王鴻薇) and other KMT members have been vocal in their demands that former DPP deputy secretary-general Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) have his nomination for a legislative seat in Taipei revoked following allegations that Lin did not respond properly to a party staff member’s complaints about being harassed, Hung said.
“A DPP internal probe showed that Lin was not a fault, but he withdrew anyway, but Wang and other KMT members are supporting Chen, who was found culpable by a court,” Hung said.
Chen can continue his campaign and he was given “a slap on the wrist” by only having to attend a gender equality course, which is in no way comparable with the high standards Wang demanded that the DPP adhere to, Hung added.
‘OBNOXIOUS MAN’: The KMT’s Chen Ching-hui moved into Chung Chia-pin’s path atop the podium and reached for him before he grabbed at her legs with both hands Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chung Chia-pin (鍾佳濱) yesterday said he slipped and lost his balance, and did not know who was around him, after jumping onto the speaker’s podium at the legislature in Taipei. He apologized after a collision with Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chen Ching-hui (陳菁徽), who moved to intercept him as he mounted the podium. There was pushing and shoving when the session started in the morning as KMT lawmakers attempted to block access to the podium to shield Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) so he could preside over the session. Video footage showed Chung step on a chair and
While it is common to see bumper stickers informing other drivers about important information, such as “baby on board” or “rookie driver,” some motorist in Taiwan are using creative statements to warn other drivers to keep a safe distance to avoid a collision. A photograph recently circulating on the Internet showed a van in Changhua City with a bumper sticker saying that the driver received their license after taking the test three times, so it is dangerous to drive close to the vehicle. The person who took the photograph said all vehicles behind the van appeared to “subconsciously” maintaining a safe distance. Some
Taipei police on Saturday arrested 24 female Thai tourists on suspicion of working as hostesses and engaging in illegal activities at an underground bar in Zhongshan District (中山), the distict’s police precinct said in a statement yesterday. The police also arrested five other people involved in the operation, including the 29-year-old bar owner surnamed Chiang (蔣), and 17 customers, the statement said. The 24 Thai women were fined an undisclosed amount in accordance with the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法) by the police and transferred to a National Immigration Agency (NIA) special brigade in Taipei for repatriation to Thailand. The cases of
SHOW OF SUPPORT: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said 508 guests from 51 delegations are expected to attend today’s inauguration ceremony in Taipei Delegations from Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and other friendly countries have arrived in the nation to attend the inauguration of president-elect William Lai (賴清德) and vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) today. From the presidential election on Jan. 13 until today, 687 foreign guests from 73 delegations have come to Taiwan to deliver congratulatory messages to the newly elected leaders, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Among them, 508 guests from 51 delegations, including eight led by heads of state, are attending today’s inauguration ceremony and other related events, it added. Pope Francis appointed the Holy See’s Apostolic Nuncio to the Philippines Charles John Brown