In Taipei, a pit bull raised by a man surnamed Hsu (徐) leaped out of a truck window and bit motorcyclists stopped at red lights twice in just 11 days. It is time to amend the law to increase the minimum penalties for dog attacks, to prevent irresponsible owners from continuing to let that kind of tragedy happen.
Article 20 of the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法) states that the “competent authority shall specify and declare the breed names of aggressive pets and relevant precaution to be taken.” The section titled “points to note for aggressive pets showing up in public places” says that dangerous dogs such as pit bulls should be placed in metal cages, or on chains or leashes no longer than 1.5m when entering and exiting public places, and they should also be muzzled.
Article 7 of the same law says: “An owner shall prevent his animal from infringing on the life, body, freedom, or property of others without due cause.”
However, what are an owner’s legal responsibilities if the dog bites a person? Contravention of Article 7 of the act only results in the seizure of the pet by the competent authority, while those who contravene Article 20 are only fined NT$30,000 to NT$150,000 (US$906 to US$4,532).
Moreover, according to Article 284 of the Criminal Code: “A person who negligently causes injury to another shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than one year, short-term imprisonment, or a fine of not more than NT$100,000; if serious physical injury results, he shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than three years, short-term imprisonment, or a fine of not more than NT$300,000.”
Article 276 of the code says:, “A person who negligently causes the death of another shall be sentenced to imprisonment for not more than five years, short-term imprisonment, or a fine of not more than NT$500,000.”
For the wealthy, such fines are insignificant. In Queensland, owners of dogs that attack another person causing serious injury or even death face three years in prison and a fine of A$108,000 (US$67,900). That is the kind of penalty that has a deterrent effect on owners.
We could learn from Australia’s example by lifting the minimum sentences and fines for dog attacks, such as at least two years of imprisonment or a fine of NT$600,000, so as to stop irresponsible owners from letting their dogs to hurt people freely.
It is not difficult to walk a dog on a leash. Hsu has said the pit bull is smart enough to open the window by itself. However smart it is, the dog would not be able to unleash itself.
Chi Chieh is the director of the New Party’s public opinion center.
Translated by Eddy Chang
China has not been a top-tier issue for much of the second Trump administration. Instead, Trump has focused considerable energy on Ukraine, Israel, Iran, and defending America’s borders. At home, Trump has been busy passing an overhaul to America’s tax system, deporting unlawful immigrants, and targeting his political enemies. More recently, he has been consumed by the fallout of a political scandal involving his past relationship with a disgraced sex offender. When the administration has focused on China, there has not been a consistent throughline in its approach or its public statements. This lack of overarching narrative likely reflects a combination
Behind the gloating, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) must be letting out a big sigh of relief. Its powerful party machine saved the day, but it took that much effort just to survive a challenge mounted by a humble group of active citizens, and in areas where the KMT is historically strong. On the other hand, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) must now realize how toxic a brand it has become to many voters. The campaigners’ amateurism is what made them feel valid and authentic, but when the DPP belatedly inserted itself into the campaign, it did more harm than good. The
US President Donald Trump’s alleged request that Taiwanese President William Lai (賴清德) not stop in New York while traveling to three of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, after his administration also rescheduled a visit to Washington by the minister of national defense, sets an unwise precedent and risks locking the US into a trajectory of either direct conflict with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) or capitulation to it over Taiwan. Taiwanese authorities have said that no plans to request a stopover in the US had been submitted to Washington, but Trump shared a direct call with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平)
Workers’ rights groups on July 17 called on the Ministry of Labor to protect migrant fishers, days after CNN reported what it described as a “pattern of abuse” in Taiwan’s distant-water fishing industry. The report detailed the harrowing account of Indonesian migrant fisher Silwanus Tangkotta, who crushed his fingers in a metal door last year while aboard a Taiwanese fishing vessel. The captain reportedly refused to return to port for medical treatment, as they “hadn’t caught enough fish to justify the trip.” Tangkotta lost two fingers, and was fired and denied compensation upon returning to land. Another former migrant fisher, Adrian Dogdodo
RSS