'Local emperor' CDC official demoted following bullying complaints

Taipei, Nov. 28 (CNA) A division head at the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was transferred to a nonsupervisory role after an internal investigation found she had bullied subordinates.

Speaking at a news conference on Thursday, CDC Director General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) apologized to staff for "physical and emotional stress" caused by the division chief, identified by her surname Huang (黃), in the CDC's Division of Preparedness for Emerging Infectious Diseases.

Huang had been accused on social media website Threads last week of acting like a "local emperor," with behaviors that included throwing documents, shouting at subordinates, and using abusive language.

In response, the CDC established a task force comprising two internal members and two external members possessing legal or psychological counseling experience to investigate and present its findings within one week.

Chuang said that 46 anonymous questionnaires were collected and 15 individuals, including Huang, were interviewed.

The task force concluded that workplace bullying took place and a subsequent performance review procedure on Thursday resulted in Huang receiving two demerits and being transferred to a nonsupervisory position as an administrative punishment under the Public Functionaries Merit Evaluation Act.

CDC Deputy Director-General Lo Yi-chun (羅一鈞) will serve as acting head of the Division of Preparedness for Emerging Infectious Diseases, Chuang said.

Chuang also said that the CDC would "enhance educational courses relating to workplace bullying and promote channels for reporting issues."

The case represents another high-profile disciplinary action against a civil servant accused of workplace bullying in recent days.

On Nov. 20, the then head of the Ministry of Labor's (MOL) Workforce Development Agency's (WDA) northern regional office, Hsieh Yi-jung (謝宜容), was dismissed after being accused of bullying a subordinate who went on to kill himself at work.