'I will not forget about it': Ella Chen says she was sexually assaulted when she was in primary school

TAIPEI - Taiwanese star Ella Chen has revealed that she was sexually assaulted when she was in primary school.

The 42-year-old singer-actress of girl group S.H.E was asked about Taiwan's #MeToo movement while attending an event to promote a skincare brand in Taipei on Thursday (June 29).

She said of the incident: "At that time, I was not sure about it and did not know how to express it."

Chen, who is a celebrity participant on Chinese reality show Ride The Wind 2023, said that the perpetrator was the son of her father's friend and also a neighbour, and that the assault took place when she went to their house to play computer games.

She recalled: "I was sitting on his lap when he suddenly put his hand into my underwear. I screamed and crawled out crying after I realised something was wrong."

Chen said she did not tell her parents about the incident and did not know how to handle it then.

She kept it to herself for many years until she discovered during a family dinner that her two elder sisters were also assaulted by the same person, who touched the breasts of one of her sisters.

When asked by the media if she is still affected by the incident, she said: "I will not forget about it, but my life will not be on pause because of it either."

Chen, who is married to Malaysian businessman Alvin Lai and has a six-year-old son with him, said her experience highlighted the importance of sex education.

"We must teach our children how to protect themselves, how to say no bravely and how to respect one another."

Meanwhile, Taiwanese actor Wu Kang-ren found himself dragged into the #MeToo movement. He took to social media late on Thursday to refute an anonymous Facebook post that claimed on Wednesday that an accomplished actor had improper relationships with several women even though he has a girlfriend.

It also alleged that the man was able to influence production units and directors to drop actresses and female staff he has had sex with if he wanted to avoid them.

It added that the actor, identified only as W, had played upright characters on-screen, like a lawyer and a prosecutor.

Wu portrayed a defence attorney in the series The World Between Us (2019) and a prosecutor in the crime thriller drama Copycat Killer (2023).

The 40-year-old, who is dating Taiwanese actress Ivy Shao, denied the allegations made in the anonymous post, adding he does not know the person behind it.

He wrote: "I am not worried about #MeToo or things I have not done. I have classified the post as a personal feud after reading it and using the #MeToo issue to create trouble."

ALSO READ: Ella Chen shows off unorthodox workout routine while watching K-drama Crash Landing On You

This article was first published in The Straits Times. Permission required for reproduction.