Accused of 'fondling thighs' and more, Taiwan hosts Hsu Nai-lin and Nono respond to fresh allegations of sexual assault

It looks like the storm in Taiwan's entertainment scene is going to brew for some time.

In the recent wave of sexual assault allegations against male celebrities, popular veteran television hosts Hsu Nai-lin and Nono (Chen Hsuan-yu) have been implicated as well.

A digital creator who goes by the name Hoho Summer shared in a Facebook post on June 15 about sexual harassment from a top-tier host surnamed Hsu.

She said she was formerly the screenwriter for a variety show and went to an outdoor shoot on Green Island with Hsu.

She claimed that Hsu caressed her thighs when they were in the hot spring, and when they were on the bus, his hand reached over to touch her shoulders and play with her swimsuit straps.

"Maybe it was the night scenery and maybe it was the alcohol, but in the hot spring, I could feel him fondling my thighs. Then, I silently changed positions and not long after, he moved next to me and continued touching my thighs," she recalled.

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She shared that she panicked and wondered if she misunderstood his actions, so she got out of the hot spring to avoid him.

She also claimed that he went to her room to borrow a pen. She gave the excuse that she did not have one and went to hide in her colleague's room instead. He was gone when she returned.

As she did not dare to protest about his behaviour, she said she subsequently resigned from the production company.

The surname Hsu is not common among Taiwan's television hosts and Nai-lin is arguably the most well-known, according to Taiwanese media.

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Nai-lin, 63, has responded to Hoho Summer's claims, saying: "I have only been to Green Island once in my life. I remember it was to shoot Funny Family together with Matilda Tao. It was a smooth shoot."

Nai-lin has been married to Wang Chia-lien, an ex-air-stewardess, since 1989 and they have one daughter and two sons.

'He pressed me down and force-kissed me'

According to Taiwanese media, another woman also accused a well-known Taiwanese celebrity yesterday (June 19) for sexual assault.

Hinting at his identity, she said his wife is an amazing Taiwanese dialect singer, and that he has a successful chicken cutlet business.

The woman said she was a model who shot a variety show more than 10 years ago and the man offered to send her home after the shoot.

"In the car, he pressed me down and force-kissed me, ripped out my bra and fondled my breasts, put his hands under my skirt, and rubbed his body against mine," she claimed.

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However, as she resisted his attempts, he did not go any further, she added in her accusation.

Nonetheless, in the remaining journey, he continued to fondle her thighs, she claimed.

The woman also shared that she had asked a friend for help and the person advised that she expose the incident to the media.

"However, as I had no audio or video recording of the incident, I knew I did not have enough evidence and chose to hide the truth," she elaborated.

She decided to speak up now as she has left show business and has the support of her husband and family.

Some netizens commented that Nono, 52, fits the description of the perpetrator. His wife is Taiwanese dialect singer Angel Chu who was awarded Best Female Taiwanese Singer at the 31st Golden Melody Awards in 2020, and Nono is the founder of fried chicken cutlet chain Monga.

The couple have an eight-year-old daughter.

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His manager replied on Nono's behalf: "We do not have any impression of this person. We will admit if we did wrong, but how do we respond to something we don't even remember?"

Angel, 37, responded through her manager: "She does not wish to comment."

In response, the woman said: "All my words are true. If they are not, I am willing to accept legal consequences. I welcome a lawsuit challenge!"

In the recent wave of #MeToo movement in Taiwan, actor Chris Wang and hosts Jeffery Hsu and Mickey Huang have apologised for their past transgressions.

Jeffery's surname, while written the same as Nai-lin's in Wade Giles, is different from the latter in Chinese and does not appear to be the person Hoho Summer is referring to.

In his apology videos, Mickey also accused 18 Taiwan celebrities of various wrongdoings and was hospitalised yesterday after inflicting injuries on himself. He was discharged today.

ALSO READ: 'He said if he doesn't ejaculate, it's not counted': Nono accuser claims there are 20 other victims including teen, Taiwan host goes on hiatus

jolynn.chia@asiaone.com

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