Sunflower Movement Inner Circle Scandal: Chen Wei-ting Withdraws from By-election After Serial Sexual Harassment Exposed

In December 2014, Chen Wei-ting, a prominent student leader of the Sunflower Student Movement and close ally of Wu Cheng and Lin Fei-fan, declared his candidacy for the Miaoli legislative by-election. Shortly afterward, he attempted a preemptive confession about previous sexual misconduct during his college years. However, this unleashed a torrent of public allegations from multiple victims revealing a long pattern of serial sexual harassment, including molesting a high school girl on the MRT and groping women at high school proms. Facing severe public outrage, Chen was forced to withdraw his candidacy on the evening of December 25. During the scandal, fellow Sunflower leaders and pro-green commentators drew widespread backlash for their initial attempts to shield and justify his predatory behavior. The incident shattered the morally righteous facade constructed around the Sunflower Movement and exposed deep hypocrisy and mutual favoritism within its core circle.