Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) yesterday said the government has a “zero tolerance” policy for sexual exploitation, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said it would never again work with entertainer Mickey Huang (黃子佼) after he was accused of sexual harassment.
Huang was investigated by prosecutors in June last year on suspicion of sexual harassment and taking nude photographs of a minor, but the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office on Wednesday said he would not be prosecuted due to a lack of evidence.
During the investigation, Huang was found to be in possession of seven sex videos featuring a minor, purchased from an illegal online sex video platform, but he was granted deferred prosecution for two years, and ordered to pay a fine of NT$1.2 million (US$37,389) and write a letter of repentance.
Photo: Taipei Times file
The prosecutors’ decision sparked a public outcry, including from model-turned-actress Sonia Sui (隋棠), who on Friday announced that she would no longer work with Huang, because he had purchased videos from an illegal platform that hosts many illegal and non-consensual sex videos, including of children.
The MOHW’s Department of Protective Services late on Saturday night issued a statement saying that as the prosecutors’ investigation had confirmed Huang’s breach of the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act (兒童及少年性剝削防制條例), it had zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and would never work with Huang again.
Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Li-feng (李麗芬) on Sunday said the ministry has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation, and that in addition to never working with Huang again, it would also remove all previous policy promotion videos with him in them.
Chen yesterday said the government has a “zero tolerance” policy against harassment and sexual exploitation, and “absolute zero tolerance” for sexual exploitation.
He said the Gender Equity Education Act (性別平等教育法), the Gender Equality in Employment Act (性別平等工作法) and the Sexual Harassment Prevention Act (性騷擾防治法) were amended last year, and the reporting mechanism was strengthened, while relevant law enforcement amendments were made across ministries, which took effect this year.
According to the law, if online platforms do not remove non-consensual sex images after being notified, they can face a fine of between NT$60,000 and NT$600,000, or the Web site may be blocked if it is in another country.
Schools would also enhance gender equality education and empower young students to say no to sexual coercion, he added.
Separately, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Shih-cheng (王世堅) yesterday said Huang’s behavior was “heinous and outrageous,” and that he would propose an amendment to the Child and Youth Sexual Exploitation Prevention Act, so that people like Huang who purchase porn featuring a minor would face three to five years in prison.
If offenders are charged with imprisonment of three years or more, they would not be granted deferred prosecution, he said, adding that sexual harassment should be an indictable offence, instead of the current state in which there is no trial without complaint.
Additional reporting by Hsieh Chun-lin and CNA
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