metoo
Thailand’s #MeToo: Top politicians resign over the country’s biggest sexual assault scandal to date
- In what some are calling the country’s first #MeToo movement, more than a dozen women have come forward with sexual assault allegations against popular Thai politician Prinn Panitchpakdi.
- Prinn, 44, immediately resigned from his post as deputy leader of Thailand’s Democrat Party on April 14, following an allegation of sexual assault by an 18-year-old woman.
- Since then, a total of 18 women have come forward with rape, sexual assault and drug accusations.
- Prinn has outright denied all allegations and maintained his innocence, adding that he was “shocked and stunned.”
- Police say there is a common theme among the allegations: Prinn would supposedly invite women into his condominium for business matters and then would proceed to rape or assault them, sometimes after drugging them.
- Feminist demonstrators gathered in front of the Democrat Party’s headquarters last week with a list of demands, including that all party members be investigated for past abusive behaviors.
- As with the U.S.’ historic #MeToo movement in 2017, which was triggered by a string of allegations against Hollywood titan Harvey Weinstein and was re-adopted from a phrase coined by activist Tarana Burke in 2006, many of the Thai accusers cited fears over making charges against a high-profile figure as the reason for why they did not come forward earlier.
In what many are calling the country’s first #MeToo movement, more than a dozen women have come forward with sexual assault allegations against popular Thai politician Prinn Panitchpakdi.
Prinn, 44, resigned from his post as deputy leader of Thailand’s Democrat Party on April 14, following an allegation of sexual assault by an 18-year-old woman. Several other women have since come forward with similar accusations against the political figure, who was detained by authorities on Saturday.
State-run media outlet shares email purported to be from missing Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai
An email purportedly penned by tennis star Peng Shuai declaring she’s neither missing nor unsafe emerged via the Twitter account of Chinese state-run platform CGTN on Wednesday.
Curveball: The email, which also backpedals on Peng’s previous allegations of sexual assault against China’s former Vice Premier Zhang Gaoli, was reportedly sent to the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) Chairman and CEO Steve Simon, CNN reported.
#WhereIsPengShuai: Tennis star now missing after her Me Too accusations against ex-CCP official
The Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) has expressed concern about the safety and whereabouts of Chinese tennis player Peng Shuai after she recently accused a former state leader of sexual assault.
A star athlete’s claims: Peng, the world’s No. 1 doubles player in 2014, alleged in a Nov. 2 Weibo post that former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli had forced her into sex after inviting her to dinner with him and his wife three years ago, NextShark previously reported.
Chinese tennis star Peng Shuai accuses Chinese official of sexual coercion
One of China’s biggest star athletes has accused a former Chinese official of sexual coercion.
Peng’s allegations: Tennis doubles player Peng Shuai alleged in a now-deleted Weibo post on Tuesday that former vice-premier Zhang Gaoli forced her into sex several years ago, reported Reuters.
#MeToo leader Tina Tchen resigns due to criticism that she did not support Gov Cuomo sexual harassment accuser
Tina Tchen officially announced her resignation as Time’s Up CEO amid the aftermath of Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment scandal.
The resignation: In her Twitter post on Thursday, Tchen, the former chief of staff for Michelle Obama, said she was not the leader who could help Time’s Up, a women’s rights organization and legal fund, move forward and evolve, CNN reported.
Korean Woman Imprisoned for Biting Alleged Rapist’s Tongue Off in 1964 Wants New Trial
A woman in South Korea who was imprisoned for biting the tongue off her alleged rapist more than five decades ago is now seeking a retrial.
In 1964, then 18-year-old Choi Mal-ja was sentenced to six months in prison for committing “grievous bodily harm” against the 21-year-old man identified only as Roh.
#MeToo Activist Arrested by Chinese Police Over Controversial Charges
Sophia Huang Xueqin, a leading Chinese feminist and a pioneering figure in the Chinese #MeToo movement has been arrested in Guangzhou after being accused of disturbing public order.
The 30-year-old activist was summoned to the Guangzhou Public Security Bureau on October 17, according to the South China Morning Post.
Why Are Asian Women So Absent In The Women’s March? We’re Sick Of The Hypocrisy
The 2017 Women’s March drew in 500,000 to one million protestors in Washington alone, and in New York, over 400,000 women reportedly took part that year. This year, just 100,000 women marched in Washington and 25,000 in New York. In fact, participation rates for the Women’s March have fallen dramatically across the country.
Advocates of these movements and journalists have been scrambling for an explanation to reassure their audiences, claiming that dips in participation are normal in social justice movements. But of course, this doesn’t show the whole picture.
Woody Allen’s Wife Soon-Yi Breaks Her Silence to Defend Her Husband
After decades of media silence, Soon-Yi Previn, the wife of Woody Allen, spoke in length surrounding her early life with adopted mother Mia Farrow and about the allegations that Allen molested his daughter Dylan Farrow.
In an interview published by New York Magazine on Sunday, Previn said Dylan Farrow was merely spreading lies about Allen while taking advantage of the recent conversation about sexual harassment in Hollywood.
NY Attorney General Resigns After Ex-Girlfriend Says He Called Her His ‘Brown Slave’
New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman resigned from his position just hours after the New Yorker published a damning piece alleging that he committed physical abuse against four women.
One of his victims was Harvard-educated Tanya Selvaratnam, a Sri Lankan activist writer who had a year-long relationship with Schneiderman.
#MeToo Movement Lawmaker Accused of Making Racist Anti-Asian Comments
A California lawmaker currently being investigated for sexual harassment of a former legislative staff member is accused of making anti-Asian comments back in 2014.
California Assemblywoman Cristina Garcia, a prominent face of the #MeToo movement, made the offensive remarks during a closed-door meeting of the Assembly Democratic Caucus, according to Politico.
Singaporean YouTuber Accused By Multiple Women of Rape, Gross Sexual Harassment
A Singaporean YouTuber is the latest figure caught up in the #MeToo movement that has been sweeping across Asia, with victims coming forward one by one to accuse him of sexual harassment.
Eden Ang, who has some 173,000 subscribers on YouTube, first came under fire in late January when a Facebook user named Kuroe Kun claimed that he harassed her friend and that Singaporean police did nothing after hearing the situation.