A legislative committee hearing on Wednesday reached an agreement to withhold NT$10 million (US$327,463) of the Atomic Energy Council's (AEC) 2023 budget in the wake of sexual harassment allegations against AEC Minister Hsieh Hsiao-hsing (???).
In addition to the budget freeze, lawmakers adopted a proposal by Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Wan Mei-ling (???) to deny Hsieh a NT$477,000 stipend.
Accusations Hsieh verbally harassed and made inappropriate physical contact with several of his female secretaries first surfaced in a Mirror Media report in October.
The report's interviewees, using pseudonyms, also accused Hsieh of only hiring female secretaries based on their looks and age.
On Dec. 3, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers Lin Yi-chin (???) and Fan Yun (??), and Claire Wang (???) of the New Power Party (NPP) called for Hsieh's temporary removal to facilitate an investigation into the complaints.
Later that same day, Hsieh, who has denied the allegations, announced he would step back from his position pending the completion of a probe led by Cabinet Secretary-General Li Meng-yen (???).
Explaining Wednesday's proposal to freeze part of the AEC's budget, Wang said Hsieh should have stepped down of his own volition once news of the allegations against him surfaced.
The AEC has set aside funds for its Gender Equality Office, but Hsieh's alleged misconduct showed that the AEC had not duly educated its employees, Wang said.
DPP Legislator Lai Pin-yu (???) said that the Cabinet had rated efforts by government agencies to promote gender equality since 2015 -- assessments that the AEC had consistently failed.
Lai said the AEC's 2019 score was so poor that the Cabinet decided not to record it, adding that the council should devise a plan to improve gender equality in the workplace.
Lin Ching-wen (???), head of the AEC's Personnel Office, admitted there were gaps in the ministry's complaint filing system, adding that the AEC would hire outside experts to ensure future sexual harassment claims were fully addressed.
The AEC would also work to improve its staff members' understanding of gender equality, Lin added.
The lawmakers agreed to have the AEC tender a written report on how to improve gender equality and give an oral report on how it investigates complaints about sexual harassment.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel