Perpetrators of sexual harassment demand "return my innocence" How does the DPP face the test?

Beijing, 6 Jun (ZXS) -- After Yan Zhifa, president of the "Xiaoying Friends Association," who was hired by the DPP authorities as a "senior minister," was forced to withdraw his criminal proceedings against the victim on 7 June, but demanded that his "innocence" be returned. Whether the victims of many cases of sexual harassment, mainly young people, can receive real assistance is testing the truth and falsehood of the DPP's long-standing advocacy of gender equality.

At present, there have been nearly a dozen cases of sexual harassment in the DPP, the latest of which was a female director who exposed the serious sexual harassment of Hong Zhikun, the chief of staff of former Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Ju. Public opinion has noted that most of the perpetrators are figures with certain power in the party, or the party's financial owners; Most of the accusers were ordinary internal staff who had previously tried to appeal through internal channels, but the voice of "little shrimp rice" was drowned out by the officials of "big shark". What is particularly ironic is that in two high-profile cases, the supervisors involved in the suppression and bullying victims were the women's department and the youth department of the DPP, which are said to be the most pro-gender equality.

The DPP's middle and top officials previously shielded perpetrators and even bullied victims. Regarding the perpetrator's intention to use legal proceedings, Lai Qingde, chairman of the party, said a few days ago that he "will face it seriously and does not approve of facing gender (other) equality incidents in such a way." However, the parties surnamed Xue and Cai, who were previously accused, did not withdraw their statement that they would "sue the accuser" even in the face of high-level dissuasion and criticism from the party's youth groups.

Some media people noticed that Lai Qingde's reaction to the first time he faced relevant questions on June 6 was indifferent and refused to answer. With a series of events causing a storm of public opinion and the DPP's image greatly damaged, he changed his stance and announced that he stood on the side of the victims and supported the protection of personal rights and interests through legal channels. At a time when the party is facing a major enemy, it is uncertain how many victims who have been silenced for fear of power will come forward again, and the public opinion representative in charge of responding to sexual harassment incidents helplessly said that "there are more and more cases" and "it is difficult to stop the bleeding."

Public opinion in Taiwan has noticed that an important direction in the crisis handling tactics launched by the DPP is to drag the Chinese Kuomintang and the People's Party into the water and fight a "mud war." Lin Ching-yee, deputy secretary general of the DPP's "Legislative Yuan" caucus, said bluntly on her social media account that after the perpetrators were replaced by non-DPP people, it seemed that the fire of public opinion discussion was about to be extinguished.

But that intention was not fully achieved. On the one hand, although sexual harassment exists in all groups in society, the vast majority of the incidents exposed in this round are concentrated in the DPP; On the other hand, the party has always advocated "gender equality" and "social justice" with high profile, but in the face of sexual harassment scandals, many middle- and high-ranking officials have not stopped the evil acts, and even formed an accomplice structure with the perpetrators. Dragging other parties down the quagmire fails to justify the party's long-standing dereliction of duty and incompetence in responding to incidents of sexual harassment.

With only half a year to go before the 2024 "two-in-one" election, the disappointment or disgust of ordinary people and supporters will be an unbearable blow for the DPP. Yau Yinglong, chairman of the Taiwan Public Opinion Foundation, which has served in the Democratic Progressive Party, warned that improper handling could cost the party a significant number of young, female and middle-class votes.

Liao Yuanhao, a legal scholar at Taiwan's Chengchi University, wrote that Taiwan's existing laws and regulations, such as the "Sexual Harassment Prevention Law" and the "Gender Work Equality Law", clearly stipulate that the handling of sexual harassment incidents does not have to be specifically complained by (the victim), as long as the suspect is known, immediate and effective corrective and remedial measures must be taken. If the loopholes (of the DPP) had been filled earlier and dealt with more aggressively and severely, the perpetrators would not have been rampant.

Now that the sexual harassment scandal continues to be exposed, the DPP is difficult to restrain the internal perpetrators, and is committed to dragging other political parties to fight a "mud war", and the image of the party that has been severely damaged will obviously continue to sink, and the follow-up political effect is worth paying attention to. (End)