With cases of obsessed lovers or stalkers turning violent a common item in news reports, it is flabbergasting that Taiwan still does not have anti-stalking legislation.
The Domestic Violence Prevention Act (家庭暴力防治法) and the Criminal Code treat stalking as an “incident” rather than repetitive and continuous behavior, punishable only by small fines. Restraining orders are only allowed when the victim has some kind of family or romantic relationship with the stalker, denying the option to victims of anonymous stalkers.
This issue has been brought up many times in the past, especially after a survey last year by the Ministry of Health and Welfare that showed that 5.2 percent of women between the ages of 18 and 74 have been stalked or harassed, but nothing has been done.
Tragedy struck again two weeks ago when a male university student surnamed Chen (陳) allegedly stabbed a female student he had been stalking for five years, reigniting the call for such laws to be enacted.
The need to enact anti-harassment and anti-stalking legislation is obvious, but it took another near-fatal incident to bring the issue to the public’s attention.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Hua Ching-chun (花敬群) has promised that a draft bill would be finalized in two months — and this time the public should watch closely to see if the government delivers.
Before the law is changed, other safeguards should be put in place to prevent similar cases getting out of hand. Reports show that the victim’s family had long been aware of Chen’s behavior, but why was nothing done about it for five years? Even after the victim reported the stalking to the police (he even stalked her into the police station), she and her family did not want to press charges, because they did not want Chen to have a police record.
Nothing presumably happened to Chen after that incident, as the police simply notified his parents to take him home. It seems there were many opportunities to do something, but nobody took the situation seriously.
Could the victim’s family have told the school or intervened earlier? Could Chen’s parents have sent him to counseling after learning of his disturbing behavior? What happened had little to do with whether Chen’s stalking was legal or not, especially since the victim declined to press charges.
Having proper laws to protect stalking victims is absolutely necessary, but providing or encouraging victims to seek early intervention before things get out of hand is just as important. Parents or school officials should be less dismissive when students seek help and not wait until tragedy strikes.
Legality aside, perhaps the way movies, television dramas and even pop songs portray “love” should be reviewed. Too often, obsessive, unrequited love is portrayed as “romantic,” and these shows often conclude with the “stalker” being rewarded. This gives the wrong message that persistence will work in any situation, regardless of how many times the victim says “no.”
Educating young people about boundaries and consent is increasingly important, especially considering recent events in Hollywood, and schools should take the opportunity to address the issue.
Although relationships are complicated and it is difficult to come up with an absolute doctrine to ensure proper behavior in all situations, a good start is making it clear that stalking is not acceptable and victims should seek help as soon as possible.
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
RSS