The Disciplinary Court has fined the nation's former representative to Thailand NT$300,000 and barred him from serving in public office for two years, after finding him guilty of sexually harassing a female subordinate while he served in Bangkok.
In its recently released ruling, the court under the Judicial Yuan found Chuang Suo-hang (莊碩漢), who took up the post in Bangkok on July 31, 2022, and resigned following allegations of misconduct on June 21 last year, guilty of behavior unbecoming the head of a foreign mission.
Photo: Taipei Times
The Judicial Yuan is responsible for disciplinary actions concerning public servants.
Although his indiscretion damaged the government's public image and reputation, Chuang admitted his misconduct and apologized to the victim, the court said.
It therefore ruled that Chuang should be dismissed from his post and barred from serving in public office for two years, together with the NT$300,000 fine.
Chuang can appeal the ruling.
The ruling was handed down after the Control Yuan impeached Chuang in July over sexually harassing a woman who worked under him in the Thailand office.
In its July statement, the Control Yuan said that during his tenure, Chuang, 68, harassed the woman physically and verbally, including by holding her hand and inviting her into his room to discuss speech drafts.
Chuang's behavior made the subordinate feel scared, uncomfortable and offended, but she did not feel she could speak out because of his position of power, the Control Yuan said.
Along with the impeachment, the case was then referred to the Disciplinary Court for trial, the Control Yuan said.
In his defense to Control Yuan investigations, the senior Democratic Progressive Party member said he apologized and deeply regretted his behavior, which he saw more as a friendly gesture with no intention to harass.
He apologized for causing the woman in question "misunderstanding and displeasure" and also apologized to the people of Taiwan over his "lack of awareness on gender issues."
Before taking up the post in Thailand, Chuang was vice chairman of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council.
He previously served as Cabinet spokesman, deputy minister of the Overseas Community Affairs Council and a legislator from 2005 to 2008.
Chuang took up the Thailand post to fill the vacancy left by the departure of then-representative Lee Ying-yuan (李應元), who resigned in August 2021 due to poor health.
Actress Barbie Hsu (徐熙媛) has “returned home” to Taiwan, and there are no plans to hold a funeral for the TV star who died in Japan from influenza- induced pneumonia, her family said in a statement Wednesday night. The statement was released after local media outlets reported that Barbie Hsu’s ashes were brought back Taiwan on board a private jet, which arrived at Taipei Songshan Airport around 3 p.m. on Wednesday. To the reporters waiting at the airport, the statement issued by the family read “(we) appreciate friends working in the media for waiting in the cold weather.” “She has safely returned home.
Twenty-four Republican members of the US House of Representatives yesterday introduced a concurrent resolution calling on the US government to abolish the “one China” policy and restore formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Led by US representatives Tom Tiffany and Scott Perry, the resolution calls for not only re-establishing formal relations, but also urges the US Trade Representative to negotiate a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Taiwan and for US officials to advocate for Taiwan’s full membership in the UN and other international organizations. In a news release announcing the resolution, Tiffany, who represents a Wisconsin district, called the “one China” policy “outdated, counterproductive
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry