TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Former Deputy Education Minister Yeh Ping-cheng’s (葉丙成) return to teaching at National Taiwan University on Wednesday was met with controversy after the university assigned him a security detail during his first lecture.
Yeh had previously come under fire for revealing the personal information of a sexual harassment victim at NTU in a social media post, per SETN. Although he removed the sensitive content after being notified, he did not delete the post until he was publicly confronted by students at a speaking engagement.
As a result, DPP lawmakers submitted Yeh’s case to the Education Ministry’s Gender Equality Committee for investigation. The committee ultimately found no wrongdoing related to gender discrimination or misconduct, per CNA. Yeh later resigned from the ministry and returned to teaching at NTU.
Upon his return, NTU assigned security personnel to monitor Yeh’s class, requiring students to present their student ID and course enrollment confirmation to enter, NOWnews. The victim, whose identity was initially disclosed, criticized the university for prioritizing Yeh’s security over her own safety and well-being.
In May, the victim said she received online threats from individuals claiming to be his supporters, including threats to further expose her personal information.
The GEC’s decision to clear Yeh triggered backlash. The victim criticized Yeh’s attitude during the investigation, noting that he told the committee he did not know her name and had not shared any identifiable information, per UDN.
The victim argued that this conflicted with his ability to track down her homeroom teacher. The victim brought legal charges against Yeh for disclosing her personal information and urged the Education Ministry to reopen the case through an independent investigation.
DPP Legislator Fan Yun (范雲) raised concerns over the precedent set by the ruling, questioning whether it would now be acceptable for personnel not directly involved in investigations to disclose student information without facing consequences.
Teachers who spoke to ETtoday said the ministry often shows leniency toward senior officials while being disproportionately strict with lower-ranking educators in gender-related cases. They claimed that teachers sometimes only discover they are under investigation after receiving the final ruling.
In a separate incident involving National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU), where female soccer players were allegedly forced to undergo blood tests, whistleblowers said the ministry conveyed the anger of Education Minister Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) to students but failed to launch a transparent investigation into the university.
