Wave of #MeToo cases threatens to engulf Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party
- A senior aide to President Tsai Ing-wen quit after being accused of harassment and a number of party officials resigned over their handling of other cases
- Failing to tackle a series of scandals properly could cost the party dearly among key electoral groups, including women and younger votes
The independence-leaning DPP’s response to the island’s emerging #MeToo movement could be crucial in determining whether the scandal costs it support among young and women voters and other groups, such as the middle classes and better educated, according to analysts.
So far more than 15 women and men have come forwards with stories of sexual assault by political figures. Of these, at least 10 involved the DPP or figures linked to the party, including two cases in which the victims were men. More cases involving prominent figures from other social sectors have also come to light.
The first accusation was made by a former party worker on May 31 who took to social media to accuse a DPP executive of covering up her complaint that she had been sexually harassed by a filmmaker when they were working on a promotional project for the party in September.
The worker said she had reported the case to her boss Hsu Chia-tien, the DPP’s women’s affairs director at the time, but was given the cold shoulder. Then, she alleged, when she complained to Hsu that nothing had been done, Hsu had asked why she did not scream when being harassed.
Hsu, who was later promoted to become the DPP deputy secretary general, resigned the next day after the party suspended her pending an investigation.