When Chien Li-ying co-wrote the script for a pivotal scene in the Netflix show Wave Makers, she never expected to spark Taiwan’s dormant #MeToo movement.
Key points:
Wave Makers screenwriter Chien Li-ying shared her own #MeToo allegationA complaint has been filed against famous Chinese activist Wang Dan in a Taiwanese courtTaiwanese political parties are grappling with the fallout ahead of January elections
True to its name, the Taiwanese political drama has made waves, triggering a series of sexual assault allegations involving political figures and spilling over into other areas, with some allegations rocking Taiwan’s entertainment industry .
“It’s very, very surprising that these effects have followed,” Chien told the ABC.
“We can clearly see that sexual harassment and sexual assault are common in all kinds of power relations.”
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In the show, a young political campaign staffer, Chang Ya-ching, confides in her mentor, the protagonist Weng Wen-fang, about an allegation of sexual harassment in the workplace.
Calling Chang later outside a karaoke bar room, Weng says, “Let’s not let this go, okay?
“A lot of things can’t be let go like that. If you do, you’re going to die slowly. You’re going to die.”
Having faced political discrimination because of her gender and sexuality, Weng seems to want to break the cycle:
“A bunch of people told me to let it go. Nobody helped me then. But now, I want to help you.”
The series has been credited with causing a reckoning in Taiwan’s political sphere.
Chen Mei-hua, a professor of sociology at National Sun Yat-sen University, says the show’s impact has been huge and resonated with young Taiwanese women.
“It triggered the whole #MeToo movement in Taiwan,” he said.
Wave of new allegations
But for many in Taiwan, Weng’s response – the support of a superior, rather than brushing it under the carpet – has the ring of idealistic fiction, with its realities not reflecting what was at stake the screen
Wave Maker characters Weng Wen-fang (Hsieh Ying-xuan) and Chang Ya-ching (Gingle Wang) have inspired a #MeToo wave in Taiwan.()
Chen Chien-jou, a former employee of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), was the first to make a sexual harassment complaint on Facebook, citing a line from the program that has become something of a rallying cry: “Don’t just let it go like that, okay?”
Ms. Chen did not respond to the ABC’s requests for an interview, but her publication created a domino effect.
Ms Chen alleged that Hsu Chia-tien, the DPP’s deputy secretary-general, was dismissive when she came forward and asked why she did not cry out when she was being harassed.
Ms Hsu was suspended from the party following Ms Chen’s post, and later resigned over her handling of the sexual harassment claim, as was Tsai Mu-lin, a senior aide who previously headed the youth department .
Three other senior party officials resigned after sexual harassment allegations were made against them.
Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen and DPP vice-president and presidential candidate Lai Ching-te have issued multiple apologies, with Mr Lai promising to introduce new measures to address sexual harassment complaints.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has apologized for her party’s mishandling of sexual harassment allegations.()
And the opposition Kuomintang (KMT) party is not immune, having also faced a series of allegations, including allegations of inappropriate behavior made by a journalist.
The allegations come at a politically sensitive time in Taiwan, with the island preparing for elections in January.
“If the DPP wants to regain their trust, the trust of women and the whole country, they obviously need to do more,” Professor Chen said.
He said the issues of sexual harassment and same-sex marriage resonated with voters under 40.
“So if the DPP or the KMT want to win the youth vote, they need to fix it now.”
Screenwriter Chien Li-ying says the show struck a chord because of the prevalence of sexual harassment in Taiwanese society. ()
Wave Makers screenwriter Chien also filed her own #MeToo complaint against exiled Chinese poet Bei Ling.
In a Facebook post in early June, she alleged he groped and kissed her. Chien hoped his work would change things for the better.
“[I] he was inspired by others who came forward and wanted to improve the situation of others by speaking out,” he said.
But Bei Ling said her post was a “fabrication” and that she had a different recollection of the events, according to the BBC.
Why has Taiwan’s #MeToo movement taken so long?
Professor Chen said what she was seeing unfold after Wave Makers was a far cry from an incident she remembered in the late 1990s, when she was working for a feminist organization and a university student came forward claiming she was sexually abused by her teacher.
Although people were shocked, many did not believe it actually happened, and some wondered if the student had seduced the teacher.
“The whole atmosphere has changed. It’s a sea change,” he said.
Sociology professor Chen Mei-hua says Taiwanese women were taught to accept harassment, but they no longer stay silent.
Culturally, she said, it had been ingrained in Taiwanese women from an early age that unwanted sexual attention was an everyday inconvenience.
It is commonly referred to by the Chinese slang term “chih dou fu”, which literally means “eating tofu”, but metaphorically means taking advantage of someone in a sexual way.
“Young women, from a young age, are already taught to protect themselves, or try to tolerate this type of inconvenience,” he said.
“I think that’s why it’s taking so long for women to speak up … that’s why it’s taking so long for Taiwan to come to the #MeToo movement.”
Taiwan is widely regarded as a gender-progressive liberal democracy, with a female president and a relatively high representation of female politicians, as well as being the first place in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
But Professor Chen said this #MeToo moment showed Taiwan still had a long way to go in gender equality and preventing sexual harassment in the workplace, universities and the Legislative Yuan.
The show, which focuses on a political campaign ahead of an election, aired months before Taiwan heads to the polls in January next year.()
He said the term for sexual harassment – “hsing sao jiao” – was not introduced in Taiwan until the early 1990s, and Taiwan only had its first Sexual Harassment Prevention Act in 2005.
It was also difficult for victims to report allegations when there were no witnesses, he added.
Professor Chen said Taiwanese women were told to think about the “big picture” – for example, whether public allegations could damage their party’s electoral chances – and were often encouraged to maintain their harmony and avoid conflict in the workplace, where men still dominate the highest positions. and women feared losing their jobs.
But now, many women from different walks of life were coming forward and sharing their stories, Professor Chen said.
“It’s uncontrollable now,” he said.
“This is really the everyday life of women, and they used to tolerate it. Now they don’t want to … and they want to talk.”
A famous Chinese activist accused in a court case
It’s not just women who show up. Lee Yuan-chun, 29, said it was partly because of the Wave Makers scene that he decided to press charges against another prominent Chinese dissident, Wang Dan.
Wang was one of the most famous leaders of the 1989 Tiananmen Square student protests in China and was forced to flee to the United States because of his activism. He has dismissed the online allegations as “negative rumours” and “scum”.
Wang Dan, a prominent pro-democracy activist, has denied the allegations and will not comment while the case is before the courts.)
Mr Lee did not go to the police, but filed a statement with the Taiwan Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office, alleging that Mr Wang forcibly kissed him while they were alone in a hotel room in the US in 2014 .
Mr Lee, then a 20-year-old activist who regarded Mr Wang as a mentor, also alleged that Mr Wang wanted to sleep with him but stopped when Mr Lee said he had recently had surgery and that he could not do the act.
The CBA cannot independently verify the allegations or those of another person who publicly accused Mr. Wang of sexual harassment.
Once a criminal case has been presented to the prosecutor’s office, it will investigate to determine whether or not to proceed with public prosecution.
According to the court filing and screenshots seen by ABC, Lee sent a message to Wang’s assistant via Facebook on the same day of the alleged incident, saying that Wang had kissed her.
Mr. Lee said, “I’m really scared now, okay?” and the assistant answered; “Haha I’ll protect you” and “He’s just playing, don’t overthink it,” according to the complaint filed in court.
Lee Yuan-chun, 29, filed a sexual assault complaint against famous democracy activist Wang Dan, filing her claim with Taiwan’s Taipei District Prosecutor’s Office.()
Nine years after the alleged incident, watching the pivotal scene in Wave Makers hit a nerve, and Mr Lee decided to come forward “because he felt he couldn’t go on like this”.
“It was a bit like going back in time to my life experience … and then I felt it was all too real,” he said.
“What happened has happened to me forever.
“I’m grateful [this show] finally this kind of issue is out.
“We have to be brave enough to face these things.”
Wang told the ABC: “This case is now at the stage of judicial investigation and I will not and should not make any public discussion about the case, as requested by the lawyers.”
Earlier this month, he told the ABC he would like to seek the truth through rigorous legal channels rather than airing allegations on the Internet.
“The oppression of others by power is something I have fought against since my youth and I paid for it by going to prison twice,” he said.
“So I understand some people’s feelings, but I believe that in a democratic system the dispute resolution mechanism should be respected for the rule of law, and people should not be convicted before there is valid legal evidence”.
This week, some Chinese human rights lawyers have also been accused of harassment and sexual assault following claims by Mr. Lee v. Mr. Wang.
Speaking out has come at a great personal cost: those who accuse him of being a puppet of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had trolled him online with the intention of damaging Mr Wang, a famous symbol of democracy.
Mr Lee, who is pro-Taiwanese independence, said he did not blame these people for assuming a political motive.
“The fear towards the CCP is real,” he said.
Tensions are high between Taipei and Beijing, which sees the island as part of its territory.
Opening up about the alleged incident also led to Mr Lee coming out as gay to his parents, who were shocked but supportive.
“[Mr Wang] he’s very famous, he’s done a lot of great things … which is indispensable, and I’m not going to discount everything he’s done in the past,” Lee said.
“Even if you don’t believe what I say is true, I hope everyone can believe that people can make mistakes, but you have to know how to reflect on it.
“If we want to pursue freedom and democracy together, then of course these things [sexual harassment and assault] it shouldn’t exist or be tolerated in the first place.”
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