Taiwanese are generally too withdrawn to hug each other, even within families, according to the results of a recent survey released by the Ministry of Education (MOE).
Nearly 80 percent of the respondents in the poll, which was conducted between March and April, said they seldom or never hug their parents or siblings.
According to the survey of nearly 5,500 family members nationwide, 62 percent of Taiwanese seldom or never thank or praise their relatives.
In addition, 50 percent of respondents said they never or seldom listen to relatives who are trying to talk about personal problems, while 36 percent said they never or seldom worry about their relatives’ health.
On the question of family time, 20 percent of the respondents said they never or seldom spend more than 30 minutes with their families each day.
“The survey results indicate that there is little interaction within Taiwanese families and that family members are often estranged from each other,” Minister of Education Wu Ching-ji (吳清基) said.
Adult males and high school students of both sexes interact the least with their families, according to poll.
“This lack of interaction will result in poor cohesion within families and render them incapable of dealing with major personal, family or social crises,” Wu said.
The ministry suggested that people try to develop the habit of hugging each other, saying that hugging has a calming effect.
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