The case of Iruan Ergui Wu has become a soap opera. Under the direction of his uncle, Wu Huo-yen (吳火眼), the Wu family failed to meet judicial demands and didn't keep appointments, although it at first looked as if they would comply fully.
Since the beginning of last month the Wu family has been saying that they would hand the boy over after the Lunar New Year. When the Lunar New Year holiday came and went, they said they wanted to hand the boy over after Tombsweeping Day. These actions by the Wu family completely ignore judicial procedure, and disregard the psychological impact on the child.
Did the Wu family give serious consideration to whether the explosive situation that resulted from the forceful execution of the law by the police on Monday, amid pushing and shoving, crying and tears, were the actions of those who love children?
In fact, recent news reports said that the teachers in Iruan's school have organized farewell parties, and that the Wu family has arranged a farewell dinner where group pictures were taken. These ceremonies have all told Iruan that he would be leaving. His uncle suggested that Iruan should be given thorough psychological counseling before leaving the country.
What did these capricious acts mean in the eyes of Iruan? What did he learn? Duplicity? He learnt that behavior in public, before television cameras. He was "acting" together with the adults, and "good faith" may in his mind have a skewed meaning.
Our organization, the Child Welfare League Foundation, fully support the idea that Iruan would have been in need of psychological reconstruction before leaving Taiwan in order to deal with separation anxiety. In the middle of last month, the foundation told the Children's Bureau of the Ministry of the Interior and Kaohsiung County's Bureau of Social Affairs that social policy agencies and elected officials had tried to contact the Wu family to discuss possible help. They were, however, rejected by the Wu family. Why did the family propose psychological counseling at such a late stage?
Allowing Iruan's aunt to accompany him to Brazil could help to ease his separation anxiety. If time allows, she could also consider staying with him and his grandmother for one or two weeks, and the Brazilian government should send local child psychology specialists to help Iruan adapt to his new life as soon as possible.
Iruan's is an uncommonly complex international custody case. It also involves many emotions, but we do not want to sacrifice the interests of the child for the sake of the emotional quarrels and angry disputes of the adult world.
At the beginning, Iruan could have been peacefully and rationally handed over, but the recent pushing and shoving has placed fear and darkness in the child's mind, and he may even have a lot of negative emotions when he finally meets his grandmother. This will further delay and prolong his adjustment period.
Wang Meien is director of the Child Welfare League Foundation's research and development department.
Translated by Perry Svensson
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
Sasha B. Chhabra’s column (“Michelle Yeoh should no longer be welcome,” March 26, page 8) lamented an Instagram post by renowned actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) about her recent visit to “Taipei, China.” It is Chhabra’s opinion that, in response to parroting Beijing’s propaganda about the status of Taiwan, Yeoh should be banned from entering this nation and her films cut off from funding by government-backed agencies, as well as disqualified from competing in the Golden Horse Awards. She and other celebrities, he wrote, must be made to understand “that there are consequences for their actions if they become political pawns of