Taipei: Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng resigned on Friday following an incident where he publicly disclosed the identity of a National Taiwan University (NTU) student who had reported sexual harassment on campus.

According to Focus Taiwan, Yeh expressed remorse through a statement from the Ministry of Education, acknowledging his role in exacerbating issues over the past three months and taking responsibility for detracting from the ministry’s work. He apologized for the incident’s societal impact and pledged to be more careful in his future conduct.

Yeh’s resignation follows a referral to the ministry’s gender equity education committee in May, after he posted on social media on April 21, failing to adequately protect the identity of the NTU student accusing a dorm clerk of harassment. He apologized and removed the post a month later, following renewed criticism from the student.

The ministry placed Yeh on leave pending a review. On Friday, a committee of external experts cleared him of undue influence related to the harassment investigation, as he was not directly involved. However, the committee stated it could not judge his failure to safeguard the student’s identity, recommending further investigation into potential data protection breaches and Yeh’s conduct as a government official.

The committee also criticized NTU for inadequately protecting the student after dismissing the harassment claims, especially given the dorm clerk’s indictment by the Taipei District Prosecutors Office for suspected breaches of the Stalking and Harassment Prevention Act. It recommended NTU suspend the clerk to prevent contact with the student pending legal proceedings.

The ministry committed to monitoring the implementation of the committee’s recommendations and cooperating with authorities should the student pursue legal action over the identity leak. Meanwhile, Minister of Education Cheng Ying-yao respected Yeh’s resignation decision, highlighting his dedication to educational policy and talent development in artificial intelligence and vocational school system reform since assuming the deputy minister role in May 2024.