President Chen Shui-bian (
To raise awareness of domestic violence and encourage men to participate in joining their efforts to end the problem, the Garden of Hope Foundation invited Chen to meet with the women.
During the gathering with the women and their children, Chen was presented with a bracelet made at the foundation's employment project in Taitung. He listened carefully as the women shared their stories.
"I am a foreign spouse from China who was abused by my husband from the time we were married. I am glad that I received help from the foundation, and I hope I will be the last victim of domestic violence," one woman said, reading from a card she had prepared to present to the president. She wished not to be named.
Chien Rong (簡蓉), a 53-year-old woman who endured her husband's violence for 25 years before divorcing him four years ago, suggested that the government should educate the police about the seriousness of domestic violence and teach them how to deal with the problem when receiving calls from victims, instead of treating it as merely a family matter.
"Besides, the government should allocate more money to establish more shelters and sponsor employment projects for the victims, so that those women can support themselves both mentally and financially," she suggested.
According to the Ministry of the Interior, there were over 30,000 cases of domestic violence last year, with an average of more than 130 incidents reported every day.
Chien said that most abused women she knew, including herself, suffered from depression because of the abuse and also because of concerns over an uncertain future if they left their husbands.
"It is very important to equip abused women with professional skills. With a steady job and financial support, I believe more women would be able to empower themselves and rebuild their lives," she said.
Responding to the women's concerns, Chen promised to put more effort toward ending domestic abuse.
With more help now available, women who suffer from domestic violence should bravely seek assistance, Chen said. In addition to the assistance from many social welfare institutes, the government will join with civic groups to end such violence, he said.
"As the husband of a disabled woman -- who manages to be an excellent wife and mother -- I've witnessed the strength of women. I admire you all for being brave in fighting against violence, and encourage more women who suffer from the same situation to walk out of the darkness," Chen said.
Statistics from the foundation show that almost 90 percent of the victims of domestic violence are women, with the majority beingbetween 31 and 40 years old.
According to a Web survey conducted by the foundation this month and last month, more than 80 percent of the men who took the survey think that domestic violence is an important issue, with 70 percent approving of the establishment of laws and involving social welfare institutes to solve the problem.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods