2023-07-03 07:47:27
A young activist confesses to her mentor that she was groped by a senior party official. “Let’s not let it go. There are many things you can’t let go of. If you do, you will slowly die. You will die.” It is a scene from the Taiwanese series of Netflix ‘Those who make the waves’. They made a tsunami. Chen Chien-jouformer employee of Progressive Democratic Party (PDP), revealed days later on Facebook that her supervisor had dismissed her allegations of sexual harassment years earlier. “Let’s not let it go,” he asked in his letter. That supervisor, already a senior leader, was suspended the next day and later resigned.
Dozens of complaints They have flooded social networks with the rubric of “let’s not let it pass” since the chapter was broadcast at the end of May. They are mostly unwanted touching or kissing, rude flirting and also attempted rape. There is no unscathed field: politics, entertainment, journalism, activism, the university… He has already resigned Chuang Suo-hang, Taiwanese top representative in Thailand after accusations by a colleague in the office. will not be investigated Bartosz Fig, the highest Polish diplomat, because he already left the island. the television comedian Mickey Huang He has apologized for kissing without permission and photographing a woman nude and the police are investigating the singer Aaron Yan for secretly filming her ex-boyfriend naked when she was younger. The symbols do not escape either. Two men have accused of sexual abuse Wang Danthe most famous pro-democracy activist to host Taiwan since he fled China after leading the students in Tiananmen.
The crisis exploded in the party that presents itself as the guarantor of the Gender Equality. The PDP is against the ropes six months before the crucial ones presidential election and some point to the fluttering of the butterfly and the storm. Can a television episode change Taiwan’s relationship with China? With the PDP, of an independentist nature, it has been turbulent. His appeal to the young electorate, in addition to his stance on China, is his liberal stamp and progressive policies. The discovery that swept abuse under the rug it has devastated its credibility and catalyzed a spirited campaign of damage control. The president, Tsai Ing-wenHe has apologized twice, at least four senior officials have resigned over his ill-fated handling of complaints, and new legislative proposals will make schools and workplaces safer by holding them accountable for protecting victims. The latest polls underline the failure: support for Tsai has fallen to 42.3%, the lowest in four years. Analysts point to the chain of complaints in his party in general and, more specifically, to the refusal to prosecute the octogenarian for sexual harassment Yen Chih-faTsai’s adviser, alleging that the incident occurred outside the presidential premises.
Possible electoral affectation
The picture favors the Kuomintang, more akin to China, which sees the light after many years in the tunnel. It has suffered fewer accusations than the PDP and, in any case, has the bulk of its electorate in the older and more traditional population.
“I don’t know if the allegations will affect the elections because the MeToo movement has already exceeded politics. There have been complaints in all parties. If there is a greater outcry against the ruling formation, it is because it has a more modern image in terms of gender equality” , says Sheng-yen Lu, a professor of Genre Studies at Taiwan Normal University.
Neglected victims would be better understood in Japan o South Korea, stubborn examples that economic development and gender equality do not always go hand in hand. But Taiwan has made liberal policies its brand image and Tsai is spreading around the world its well-deserved reputation as a vibrant democracy in the face of the Chinese dictatorship. It was the first Asian country to legalize gay marriage and since this year it allows them to adopt, it has the only transgender minister in the world and women enjoy utopian rights on the continent. They occupy 42% of parliamentary seats, double the Asian group and also higher than the 37% of the United States.
progress in equality
“Taiwanese society appreciates harmony and places more importance on interpersonal relationships than on the law,” said a Taipei university professor who requested anonymity. “In the last three decades it has achieved great progress in gender equality and many institutions have invested resources in maintaining egalitarian ecosystems. But often it is women, and especially feminists, who take responsibility for those efforts and end up being marginalized in their organizations,” she adds.
Taiwanese laws did not introduce the concept of sexual harassment until the early 1990s, but the country has made efforts to prevent it and classes on gender equality are already taught in schools. It happens that in the work environment previous generations rule and mental structures resist falling. Therein lies the contrast between the official discourse and a society that, no matter how many liberal milestones it collects, remains attached to tradition.
“Gender equality in institutions was established long ago but subtle cultural changes will take longer to achieve. What the normalization of the MeToo is achieving in Taiwan is to increase the deterrence future by demonstrating that public denunciation is a viable option and that victims have support,” says Wen-ti Sung, a political analyst on the island.
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