Taipei City Councilor Reveals Surge in Metro Sex Offense Cases; Mayor to Consider Banning Perpetrators

(CNA, by reporters Chen Yu-ting and Huang Li-yun, Taipei, 9th) Social Democratic Party Taipei City Councilor Miao Po-ya stated today that according to police statistics, the number of sexual harassment and voyeurism cases within the metro system has increased from 87 to 144 over the past three years. She demanded that the cause be identified and that perpetrators be banned from the system. Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an promised to look into the proposal.

During today's municipal general interpellation at the Taipei City Council, Miao Po-ya presented data obtained from the Taipei Metro Corporation, pointing out that while cases of sexual harassment, voyeurism, and other gender-equity incidents within the Taipei and New Taipei metro systems had decreased after Chiang Wan-an took office, falling from 81 in 2023 to 23 last year, the number has already reached 57 as of May this year, more than double the total for all of last year.

Taipei Metro Corporation President Huang Ching-hsin responded that the increase might be due to rising passenger volume and crowding, which could make such incidents more likely. He stated that the company maintains a zero-tolerance policy for gender-equity incidents and immediately handles and reports any complaints from passengers. However, Miao questioned whether passenger volume had more than doubled this year or if the zero-tolerance policy was not in place before.

Miao said that because the change in numbers seemed strange, she requested data from the Taipei City Police Department on gender-equity cases at metro stations within Taipei. She discovered that since Chiang Wan-an took office, the number of cases has been rising steadily, surging from 87 in 2023 to 144 last year. The top five hotspots, in order, were Taipei Main Station, Zhongxiao Fuxing Station, Songjiang Nanjing Station, Daan Station, and Zhongshan Station.

Chiang Wan-an said he would look into the details to determine the cause of so many gender-equity incidents, suggesting it might be due to increased public awareness of such issues.

Miao continued, pointing out that while the Taipei Metro's statistics show a yearly decrease in cases across Taipei and New Taipei stations, the police department's figures are continuously rising, and the gap is widening. This suggests, she said, that cases might be getting 'lost' and that the Taipei Metro is out of touch with the situation.

Huang Ching-hsin explained that employees are required to report any passenger complaints and that it's impossible for cases to be 'lost.' He suggested that the discrepancy with police statistics arises because passengers may report directly to the police without notifying the Taipei Metro.

Miao questioned whether this indicated a problem with horizontal communication between the Taipei Metro and the police department, or if the metro company simply feels it doesn't need to know about incidents occurring in its own jurisdiction and has therefore not established such communication channels.

Huang emphasized that the Taipei Metro is not 'losing' cases and asked Miao not to twist his words. Miao replied that she was not accusing the company of losing cases, but rather suggesting that it should contact the police department to understand the situation. The two engaged in a brief war of words until Mayor Chiang intervened, promising to compare the numbers, strengthen horizontal communication, and conduct statistical analysis.

Miao then stated that a further comparison of police data revealed that 44 individuals had repeatedly committed offenses in the metro system within 10 years. One of them is a 10-time repeat offender involved in child sexual exploitation, another committed 5 offenses in one year, another's offenses span 9 years, and another re-offended 3 times in 3 months. She asked Mayor Chiang if this was acceptable.

Chiang Wan-an shook his head, stating that he would study the matter and establish a mechanism to track repeat offenders. Miao suggested that based on existing regulations like the 'Taipei Metro System Passenger Guide' and the 'Taipei Rapid Transit Corporation Passenger Transportation Regulations,' these criminals could be directly refused transport, preventing the metro system from becoming a hunting ground for perpetrators.

Chiang said he would cautiously study whether existing regulations could be used to refuse transport to avoid future disputes. Seeing Chiang's reluctance to agree directly, Miao pointed out that the Taipei Metro had previously refused service to passengers for begging or lying on seats, and asked if sexual harassment and voyeurism were less serious. Only then did Chiang say he would move forward with studying Miao's suggestion. (Editor: Hsiao Po-wen) 1150609