Despite her many experiences, Control Yuan member Wang Yu-ling (王幼玲) said she believes her most important role has been as the mother of a child with autism.
Wang, who assumed the Control Yuan post in January, has been a nurse at National Taiwan University Hospital, a reporter at the Independent Evening Post and the secretary-general of the League of Welfare Organizations for the Disabled, among other roles.
Her son was rejected from a preschool more than 20 years ago, Wang said, adding that at the time she held a news conference declaring that the “zero reject” policy was a lie.
Photo: Chang Chia-ming, Taipei Times
The preschool later accepted her son, but after spending three days with him at the school, Wang discovered that the ability of children with disabilities to integrate into a mainstream classroom depended on whether the government had provided enough support for the teachers and schools, she said.
In the end, Wang decided to enroll her son at a special needs preschool, she said.
After her son graduated from high school, taking care of him posed a new set of challenges, she said, adding that her hand was once broken twice in a month.
She finally had to send her son to a care center during the day and hire a foreign caregiver, she said.
No matter how many subsidies the government offers, there is a limit to how much help they can provide, Wang said.
The biggest challenge for parents of children with autism is being able to find the services they need, she added.
Shortly after Wang became a Control Yuan member, a mother in Keelung committed suicide by burning charcoal and killed her son with autism in the process.
Wang ordered an investigation and discovered that many local health officials had given the mother false, bureaucratic responses, she said, adding that she knew which resources were available for people with autism and which were not.
Wang said she has been a caregiver since she was a child.
While her father took care of her sick mother, she was responsible for looking after her six younger sisters, she said, adding that she studied nursing because she wanted to help take care of her mother.
Once, she carried her mother up five flights of stairs because the elevator was broken, she said.
In 2008, Wang was charged with corruption and the judge wanted her to plead guilty in exchange for a lighter sentence, but she felt conflicted knowing that there would be no one to take care of her son, she said.
She did not see why she should give in if she did not commit the crime, she said.
The legal battle lasted for five years and, in the end, Wang was found not guilty.
After becoming a Control Yuan member, Wang pledged to donate NT$60,000 every month to the Chilin Foundation, Humanistic Education Foundation and other organizations for autism advocacy, as well as to drunk driving prevention.
She has already set aside money for her son’s expenses, Wang said.
Every November, Wang still takes to the streets with various organizations to advocate for the rights of people with disabilities.
Wang said she plans to purchase works of art created by children with autism to hang on the walls of the Control Yuan to add to the collection already in her office.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
The National Museum of Taiwan Literature is next month to hold an exhibition in Osaka, Japan, showcasing the rich and unique history of Taiwanese folklore and literature. The exhibition, which is to run from Aug. 10 to Aug. 20 at the city’s Central Public Hall, is part of the “We Taiwan” at Expo 2025 series, highlighting Taiwan’s cultural ties with the international community, National Museum of Taiwan Literature director Chen Ying-fang (陳瑩芳) said. Folklore and literature, among Taiwan’s richest cultural heritages, naturally deserve a central place in the global dialogue, Chen said. Taiwan’s folklore would be immediately apparent at the entrance of the
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
Speeding and badly maintained roads were the main causes of a school bus accident on a rainy day in Taipei last year that severely injured two people and left 22 with minor injuries, the Taiwan Transportation and Safety Board said. On March 11 last year, a Kang Chiao International School bus overturned inside the Wenshan Tunnel (文山隧道) on the northbound lane of the Xinyi Expressway. The tour bus, owned by Long Lai Co, exceeded the speed limit after entering the tunnel, the board’s investigation found. Sensing that the rear of the vehicle was swaying, the driver attempted to use the service and exhaust
RSS