Taitung County councillor goes naked in support of vaccines for medics

A Taitung County Councillor has come under criticism after uploading pictures of himself naked but for a surgical mask and a piece of A4 paper covering his private parts with a message “support doctors and nurses, want vaccines, come on!”

According to reports, Gu Zhicheng (古志成), of the Koumintang Party(KMT/Chinese Nationalist Party), uploaded the picture to a private Line group. However, a member of the group leaked the picture to Facebook, where it has been subject to wide condemnation.

Gu has responded to the criticism by saying that he was just supporting vaccines for medical workers, as the vaccines are in short supply in Taitung County. Gu also said that the photos were uploaded to an internal, private group, and he did not authorize the pictures to be disseminated publicly.

Some media reports, including SETNs said that the private Line group Gu uploaded the pictures to consisted of other councillors and people involved in epidemic prevention work in rural Yanping Township, Taitung County. However, Gu denied this and said that the group was not an epidemic prevention group, but consisted of some council colleagues and family members, according to United Daily News.

The caption under the picture uploaded by Gu reads “we don’t want anything else, just the vaccine,” perhaps providing a clue about his choice to appear naked.

Some Facebook users accused Gu of being disrespectful to women, and considered his nakedness a form of sexual harassment.

Gu countered the accusations and pointed out that being naked is a symbol of “nothing,” and that the intention of his message is “very obvious.”

Mr Gu, who also serves as chairman of the KMT Yanping Youth Trade Union, pointed out that he has two children, both daughters, and would not deliberately humiliate women.

Taiwan English News is an independent publication with no corporate funding. If you found this article informative, and would like to support my work, please buy me a coffee or support me on Patreon. Subscribe to Taiwan English News for free to receive the latest news via email. Advertising queries are welcome. Share, like, comment below.