The publication of photographs of Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kao Chia-yu’s (高嘉瑜) badly bruised face after she was allegedly abused by her then-boyfriend Raphael Lin (林秉樞) has caused an uproar in Taiwan, making the subject of abusive partners once again a hot topic.
How can people avoid domestic violence? How can they protect themselves from getting trapped in such a predicament?
Abusive partners might be recognized by their behavior:
First, passive-aggressive traits. On the surface, such people are cooperative and attentive, but inside, they are aggressive. When things do not go as expected, they start behaving aggressively.
Second, antisocial traits. Such people can appear to be calm and courteous, but they act impulsively, do not care about other people’s feelings, and have no sense of morality or guilt, as well as no respect for the law.
Third, histrionic or narcissistic traits. Such people seem to be emotional, but in fact want to be the center of attention.
When people with these characteristics — especially those with antisocial personality traits and poor impulse control — are “triggered,” they might be unable to control their emotions and behavior. They might suddenly fly into a rage and attack their cohabitant or spouse.
The most serious situation is when they also have low frustration tolerance. Once people marry such a person or start living with them, they might be repeatedly and severely attacked and abused. The closer the relationship, the more likely they are to become a target of attack.
It makes it hard for a victim to escape from the clutches of an abusive relationship when their partner first attacks, abuses and threatens, but later apologizes with sweet words and begs that the victim stay.
If people discover that the person they are dating is not good at controlling their emotions, acts impulsively, has low frustration tolerance, and acts angrily and aggressively, they should quickly and quietly cut off the relationship.
There is no room for compromise, and people should never be softhearted and give their abusive partner a chance to turn over a new leaf. If need be, people should ask friends and relatives to help protect them from harassment. If more action is required, they should call the police.
Wang Sou-jane is founding president of the Association of Taiwan Clinical Psychology.
Translated by Julian Clegg
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (傅?萁) has caused havoc with his attempts to overturn the democratic and constitutional order in the legislature. If we look at this devolution from the context of a transition to democracy from authoritarianism in a culturally Chinese sense — that of zhonghua (中華) — then we are playing witness to a servile spirit from a millennia-old form of totalitarianism that is intent on damaging the nation’s hard-won democracy. This servile spirit is ingrained in Chinese culture. About a century ago, Chinese satirist and author Lu Xun (魯迅) saw through the servile nature of
Monday was the 37th anniversary of former president Chiang Ching-kuo’s (蔣經國) death. Chiang — a son of former president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), who had implemented party-state rule and martial law in Taiwan — has a complicated legacy. Whether one looks at his time in power in a positive or negative light depends very much on who they are, and what their relationship with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is. Although toward the end of his life Chiang Ching-kuo lifted martial law and steered Taiwan onto the path of democratization, these changes were forced upon him by internal and external pressures,
In their New York Times bestseller How Democracies Die, Harvard political scientists Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt said that democracies today “may die at the hands not of generals but of elected leaders. Many government efforts to subvert democracy are ‘legal,’ in the sense that they are approved by the legislature or accepted by the courts. They may even be portrayed as efforts to improve democracy — making the judiciary more efficient, combating corruption, or cleaning up the electoral process.” Moreover, the two authors observe that those who denounce such legal threats to democracy are often “dismissed as exaggerating or
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus in the Legislative Yuan has made an internal decision to freeze NT$1.8 billion (US$54.7 million) of the indigenous submarine project’s NT$2 billion budget. This means that up to 90 percent of the budget cannot be utilized. It would only be accessible if the legislature agrees to lift the freeze sometime in the future. However, for Taiwan to construct its own submarines, it must rely on foreign support for several key pieces of equipment and technology. These foreign supporters would also be forced to endure significant pressure, infiltration and influence from Beijing. In other words,
RSS