#METOO/Ex-envoy to Manila found guilty of workplace sexual harassment

Taipei, Feb. 26 (CNA) The Disciplinary Court on Wednesday found former Taiwanese representative to the Philippines Michael Hsu (徐佩勇) guilty of sexually harassing an employee during his stint in Manila.

In its ruling, the court found Hsu, who headed the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines from June 2018 to April 2023, guilty of workplace sexual harassment. It ordered that Hsu cannot be employed in an official capacity for a period of three years and imposed a fine of NT$500,000 (US$15,241).

Hsu retired in January 2024.

The ruling followed Hsu's impeachment by the Control Yuan on May 14, 2024, with the government watchdog subsequently referring the case to the Disciplinary Court, which handles cases of civil servant misconduct.

According to the Control Yuan report at that time, Hsu made sexually explicit remarks to a Filipino employee working as his secretary and forcibly touched her multiple times from December 2022 to March 2023.

The report said Hsu's actions left the employee frightened, distressed and upset while causing her to have insomnia.

Hsu's improper behavior not only undermined the employee's dignity but also "severely damaged the reputation and image of the country and its diplomatic personnel," the report said.

The employee did not initially report Hsu out of fear of losing her job, but later handed over relevant evidence against the diplomat, including the recordings of conversations between the two, to a Taiwanese national security official posted in Manila, the report said.

The Control Yuan also censured the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) for "failing to take immediate and effective corrective measures" until sexual harassment allegations against Hsu began to circulate on a Taiwanese online forum and were widely reported by the media.

In a press release issued in June 2023, MOFA said it recalled Hsu in April after learning of his misconduct and placed him under investigation.

In October that year, MOFA said its investigation confirmed Hsu's impropriety and it then passed the case to the Control Yuan.