Taiwan trade representative engaged in workplace bullying: Cabinet

Taipei, June 26 (CNA) An investigative committee established by the Cabinet found on Friday that Taiwan's trade representative, Yang Jen-ni (楊珍妮), engaged in workplace bullying of her late deputy, Yen Huai-shing (顏慧欣).

The probe, conducted by one Cabinet member and four external members, found that Yang "consistently" used her position and authority to interrupt Yen's remarks and dismiss her opinions, creating an "offensive and unfriendly" work environment that placed Yen under "tremendous" mental pressure.

It also found that Yang repeatedly used "offensive language" to scold colleagues at the Office of Trade Negotiations and frequently finished their sentences.

The investigation concluded that Yang's behavior exceeded what could be considered "reasonable" management and therefore constituted workplace bullying.

Cabinet spokesperson Michelle Lee (李慧芝) said Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) will decide as early as next week whether the report's findings merit dismissing Yang from her position.

Yen, an associate research fellow at the semi-official Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research, died on March 12 at the age of 53, shortly after resigning from her post.

In her resignation letter, she wrote that her proposals regarding Taiwan's bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), as well as a systematic overhaul of the office, were repeatedly ignored.

Subsequent media reports linked Yen's resignation, officially attributed to "health issues," to bullying by Yang.

The investigation was based on surveys and interviews with Yen's colleagues, as well as correspondence retrieved from Yen's cellphone, Executive Yuan Deputy Secretary-General Lee Guo-shin (李國興) said.