The Control Yuan yesterday said it had voted to impeach former Atomic Energy Council (AEC) minister Hsieh Shou-shing (謝曉星) for sexual harassment and other misconduct, and referred his case to a disciplinary court for civil servants.
Hsieh, who had led the AEC since 2016, was dismissed from his post in January after accusations that he verbally harassed and made inappropriate physical contact with several of his female subordinates were substantiated by the Cabinet.
His case was also taken up by the Control Yuan, which is responsible for investigating and disciplining public servants and agencies.
Photo: CNA
The Control Yuan said that on July 6, it voted 13-0 to impeach Hsieh after an investigation and interviews with 40 witnesses.
Control Yuan member Yeh Ta- hua (葉大華) told a news conference yesterday that the investigation found that Hsieh had committed breaches of professional conduct in four main areas.
First, Hsieh was a bully in the workplace, frequently losing his temper and publicly berating or belittling employees in a way that harmed their dignity, and created an atmosphere of pressure and fear, Yeh said.
In terms of sex-based discrimination, the Control Yuan said that after Hsieh took office in 2016, he hired eight secretaries, mainly “tall females,” using a screening process that asked candidates about their height, blood type, marital status and plans to have children.
Hsieh’s female employees were also treated differently at work, including being required to ask in person for permission to take time off, while male employees could do so in writing, Yeh said.
Witnesses also corroborated accusations that Hsieh sexually harassed female employees, by staring at them or standing too close to them, or making comments about their looks or how they were dressed, Yeh said.
Additionally, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Taiwan, Hsieh continued his habit of eating lunch with all of his secretaries, in contravention of rules at the time limiting indoor gatherings to no more than five people, Yeh said.
The Control Yuan said it would transfer his case to a disciplinary court for government employees, which would act on his case, including ordering cuts to his pension.
The Control Yuan also ordered the AEC to take corrective measures over its lax handling of the case, which it said demonstrated a misunderstanding of the protections afforded under the Act of Gender Equality in Employment (性別工作平等法).
Yeh urged the Legislative Yuan to facilitate passage of proposed amendments approved by the Executive Yuan last year that aim to bolster protocols and penalties applicable in cases where sexual harassment is committed by people in positions of power.
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