TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Senior advisor to President Tsai Ing-wen, Yen Chih-fa (顏志發) has resigned after members of the Friends of Tsai Ing-wen Association (小英之友會) accused him of sexual harassment.
Yen, who filed a defamation lawsuit against the group who levelled the accusation on Monday (June 5), said today that he would cease legal action and fully comply with investigations into his behavior per CNA. Yen's resignation follows a wave of sexual misconduct allegations levelled against senior political figures that have emerged in Taiwan after an initial whistleblower went public with her story on May 31.
At least 15 women and men have come forward with stories of sexual assault or improper handling of sexual assault by senior politicians, seven of whom are members of Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), after a whistleblower set events in motion with a Facebook post on May 31. By June 2, two DPP staffers had resigned for failing to adequately address complaints of sexual harassment from junior staff working for the party, including the former director of the National Alliance of Taiwan Women’s Associations.
Hung Chih-kun. (CNA photo)
After the initial whistleblower went public and the DPP figure responsible for mishandling her complaint resigned, dozens of women and men have come forward with stories of sexual assault or improper handling of sexual assault by senior politicians, many of whom are members of the DPP. The wave of accusations began within the party, and have since spread to the opposition Kuomintang (KMT), and Ko Wen-je’s (柯文哲) Taiwan People’s Party (TPP).
Just before Yen announced his resignation on Tuesday evening, Hung Chih-kun (洪智坤) apologized after a woman wrote a Facebook post detailing how he sexually harassed her during his time working for Chen Chu (陳菊), who is the current president of Taiwan’s Control Yuan. Hung went on to work for Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che (黃偉哲), but resigned last year for reasons unrelated to the alleged assault.
Mark Ho speaks to media in April. (CNA photo)
On the KMT side, the Taipei City Labor Bureau has ordered the opposition party to investigate its handling of sexual harassment allegations put forward by multiple women against KMT thinktank researcher Tseng Pai-wen (曾柏文). There are reportedly more than ten women who have come out with accusations of sexual misconduct against Tseng, per CNA.
On June 4, a man posted on Facebook and said he was harassed by DPP legislator Mark Ho (何志偉) while attending junior high school, detailing how Ho touched him and wrote his phone number on his arm, encouraging the then student to call him. Also, a National Chung Cheng University assistant professor (who served as Taipei’s gender equality commissioner while Ko Wen-je was mayor) has been accused of sexually harassing a subordinate, a revelation that emerged after Ko called on the DPP to immediately address the issues of sexual misconduct within the party on June 2.
In addition to politicians, those working outside the government have come forward with allegations of sexual assault, including a screen writer for the TV show, credited with inspiring the initial whistleblower to come forward, who said she was sexually assaulted during a meeting with exiled Chinese dissident Bei Ling (貝嶺). Meanwhile, Chinese pro-democracy campaigner Wang Dan (王丹) has strongly denied allegations of sexual assault levelled against him by two separate men.
Wang Dan is pictured at Taiwan's Presidential Office. (Taiwan Presidential Office Photo)
DPP Chairperson and Taiwan Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德）apologized on behalf of the party on Friday (June 2), shortly before the party’s secretary general apologized again after a second whistle blower went public and a second DPP staffer resigned. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also addressed the growing scandal, and strongly condemned any sexual harassment within the party.
President of the Legislature You Si-kun (游錫堃) and Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) have also spoken out on the issue. KMT Presidential candidate Hou You-ih (侯友宜) called on the DPP to treat gender equality as more than just a slogan when reports of misconduct began to emerge against the party, and following accusations against his own party has said violations of personal autonomy will not be tolerated.
Many in Taiwan’s Chinese language media have labelled the events of the past six days Taiwan’s 'Me Too” moment, as more people have been encouraged to come forward with stories of sexual harassment and abuse at the hands of those in power following the initial whistleblower’s statement.
