Taiwan’s #MeToo movement has enmeshed politicians and celebrities – but a culture of silence endures

Chen Chien-jou in New Taipei City. She has watched Taiwan’s growing #MeToo movement with mixed emotions. Photograph: Sam Yeh/AFP/Getty Images

When Judy* saw the wave of #MeToo accusations filling her news feeds, her first thought was “finally”. She had long hoped that Taiwan would join the pushback against sexual harassment and abuse that first exploded overseas half a decade ago.

“Me and lots of my friends have faced sexual harassment, and even worse situations before,” Judy tells the Guardian in Taipei. “Finally we started to have some focus on this topic.”