President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has asked Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to enact widescale reforms, amid sexual harassment accusations involving politicians from both the ruling and opposition parties. Her statement, along with her second apology of the week, was posted on her Facebook page on Tuesday.
Tsai says the government will propose reforms that will work to clearly define what constitutes as sexual harassment based on inputs from international law and leading experts. She says the reforms will also evaluate reporting mechanisms and strengthen the public’s ability to intervene when accusations are not properly handled. She adds the government will also discuss amendments to the Gender Equity Education Act.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker Cheng Yun-peng (鄭運鵬) says current reporting processes place additional burden on people who experience sexual harassment. Cheng says Tsai hopes to improve and create third party reporting channels to help alleviate the pressure victims face when reporting incidents.
KMT lawmaker Tseng Ming-chung (曾銘宗) says he hopes the reforms will be implemented. He adds that the proposed amendments will be a priority at the next legislative session.
Taiwan People’s Party lawmaker Jang Chyi-lu (張其祿) says he hopes people will be more empathetic towards victims of sexual harassment. He adds that he hopes future policies will also protect whistleblowers and extend the period to hold perpetrators accountable.