A young activist confesses to her mentor that she was groped by a senior party official. “Let’s not quit. There is so much you won’t let go. If you let go, you will die slowly. You will die.” A scene from the Taiwanese drama. Netflix ‘Those who make the waves’. They made a tsunami. Chen Chien-jouformer employee Progressive Democratic Party (PDP)Days later, she announced on Facebook that her supervisor had denied sexual harassment allegations years ago. “Let’s not quit,” he asked in his letter. Already a senior leader, this supervisor was dismissed the next day and later resigned.
Dozens of complaints With the episode aired at the end of May, they filled the social networks with the headline “Let’s not let it pass”. Often it is unwanted touching or kissing, rude flirting, and also attempted rape. There is no pristine space: politics, entertainment, journalism, activism, university… Already resigned Chuang Suo-hang, Taiwanese senior representative in Thailand after accusations by a colleague in the office. will not be investigated bartosz rys, the highest Polish diplomat, because he has already left the island. television comedian Miki Huang He apologizes for kissing without permission and taking a nude photo of a woman, and police are investigating the singer Aaron Yan for secretly filming her ex-boyfriend as a teenager. Symbols don’t escape either. Two people accused of sexual harassment from wangHe is the most famous pro-democracy activist to host Taiwan since fleeing China after leading students in Tiananmen.
Crisis broke out in the party that presented itself as a guarantor. Gender equality. PDP against the ropes six months before the critical ones presidential election and some point to the flutter of the butterfly and the storm. Could a television episode change Taiwan’s relationship with China? It has been turbulent with the PDP, which has an independent structure. In addition to his stance on China, his appeal to young voters is his liberal stamp and progressive policies. Discovery swept the abuse under the rug destroyed his credibility and precipitated a heated damage control campaign. Minister, Tsai Ing-wenHe has apologized twice, at least four senior officials have resigned for their unfortunate handling of complaints, and new proposals will make schools and workplaces safer by holding them accountable for protecting victims. Recent polls underscore the failure: support for Tsai fell to 42.3%, a four-year low. Analysts point to the chain of complaints in his party in general, and more specifically, the denial of the eighty-year-old’s prosecution for sexual harassment. Yen Chih-faTsai’s adviser claimed that the incident occurred outside the presidential building.
Possible selection bias
picture favor Kuomintanglooks more like China, which saw the light years later in the tunnel. It has faced fewer accusations than the PDP, and in any case the older and more traditional population makes up the bulk of its electorate.
“I don’t know if the allegations affected the election because the MeToo movement has already surpassed politics. Complaints have come from all parties. If there is a greater backlash against power formation, it’s because it has a more modern image. Sheng-yen Lu, a professor of Genre Studies at Taiwan Normal University, said: in terms of equality,” he says.
Neglected victims will be better understood. Japan anyone South Koreastubborn examples of how economic development and gender equality don’t always go hand in hand. But Taiwan has made liberal policies its brand image, and Tsai is spreading the world’s well-deserved reputation as a vibrant democracy in the face of the Chinese dictatorship. It was the first Asian country to legalize same-sex marriage and has the only transgender minister in the world to allow adoptions this year, and women across the continent enjoy utopian rights. They occupy 42% of the parliamentary seats, double the Asian group, and are also higher than 37% of the United States.
progress in equality
“Taiwanese society appreciates harmony and places greater emphasis on interpersonal relationships than the law,” said a Taipei University professor, who asked not to be named. “Over the last thirty years great progress in gender equality and many institutions have invested resources to maintain equitable ecosystems. But it is often women, and especially feminists, who take responsibility for these efforts and are ultimately marginalized in their organizations.
Taiwan’s laws did not introduce the concept of sexual harassment until the early 1990s, but the country has made efforts to prevent it, and gender equality classes are already being taught in schools. It is seen that previous generations dominate the business environment and mental structures resist falling. Herein lies the contrast between official discourse and a society that adheres to tradition, no matter how liberal milestones it collects.
“Gender equality in institutions was established a long time ago, but subtle cultural changes will take longer to achieve. Me too success in Taiwan, deterrence Wen-ti Sung, a political analyst on the island, will come by showing that public denunciation is a viable option and that the victims are gaining support.