In order to allow people to understand the feelings of children who have been abused, the Taiwan Fund for Children and Families (TFCF) yesterday organized an event at Taipei Railway Station for people to experience the psychological torment by covering their eyes while broadcasting cries for help from children.
TFCF said an average of two incidents of child abuse are reported every two hours, although the actual numbers may much be higher. The TFCF marks April to June each year as its Child Protection Promotion Season, and is advocating to get Monday recognized as Child Protection Day, to raise public awareness of child abuse.
To advertise its campaign, TFCF organized road running events across the nation, starting in Kinmen on April 10 and arriving in Taipei yesterday. Meanwhile, another run is to be held in Hualien today.
Photo: CNA
“With our Child Protection Day campaign, we hope to urge parents to show more care for their children, to protect their children and hug their children more often,” TFCF executive director Ho Su-chiu (何素秋) said. “We would also like to remind the public to refrain from beating your children. Whenever a problem occurs between you and your kid, remember not to get angry, close your eyes to calm yourself down, call the TFCF hotline 0800-078-585 to seek help. Hug your kid, and give them a smile.”
The TFCF also arranged an event in which voluntary participants could have their eyes covered and listen to the crying and shouting of abuse victims, so that participants would be able to feel the mental pressure of children suffering from domestic violence.
Child Protection Ambassadors singer-actress Amber An (安心亞) and child star Chiao Chiao (喬喬) also took part in the experience session. Chiao Chiao, who portrayed an abuse victim in a recent film, urged adults not to beat children.
Ho said that the TFCF has been working on the child protection campaign for 27 years. Last year, a total of 16,000 child abuse cases were reported, but the group estimates that the actual number may be as high as 80,000. At the moment, there are 3,760 abused children and young adults who need special counseling service.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
RSS