Three out of 10 adolescents in Taiwan have experienced bullying, either as victims or witnesses, with verbal and physical bullying being the most common, a survey conducted by the Taiwan International Association for Advancement of Children Rights has found.
A total of 30.58 percent of respondents — comprising junior and senior-high school students — said they have either been the victims of bullying or have seen or heard people around them being bullied.
The types of bullying were verbal bullying (86.3 percent), physical bullying (70.8 percent), relational bullying (67 percent), cyberbullying (18 percent) and sexual bullying (13.6 percent), the survey found.
When asked about the possible cause of bullying, respondents attributed 59 percent of the cases to the victim’s personality, 49.5 percent to physical appearance and 27 percent to personal hygiene.
The survey found that 13 percent of the respondents were victims of bullying, which resulted in polarized reactions, said Chang An-tzu (張安慈), a consultant at the association.
Some of the victims changed their attitudes in an attempt to fit in, but others became depressed and were reluctant or afraid to make friends, Chang said.
Bullied adolescents might refuse to attend school, injure themselves deliberately, have nightmares or even lash out when they think they are about to be bullied, Chang said.
Judging from the reasons cited for bullying, adolescent people’s character, including their ability to make friends, and their self-image and sense of worth, can be improved, Chang said.
Efforts to prevent bullying should be improved, because as many as 70 percent of adolescents ignore, choose not to get involved or do not know what to do when they witness bullying, Chang said.
The survey was conducted last month and collected 1,205 valid samples.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
A former soldier and an active-duty army officer were yesterday indicted for allegedly selling classified military training materials to a Chinese intelligence operative for a total of NT$79,440. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office indicted Chen Tai-yin (陳泰尹) and Lee Chun-ta (李俊達) for contravening the National Security Act (國家安全法) and the Anti-Corruption Act (貪污治罪條例). Chen left the military in September 2013 after serving alongside then-staff sergeant Lee, now an army lieutenant, at the 21st Artillery Command of the army’s Sixth Corps from 2011 to 2013, according to the indictment. Chen met a Chinese intelligence operative identified as “Wang” (王) through a friend in November
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
The Grand Hotel Taipei has rejected media reports claiming that the hotel had prevented CBS from broadcasting coverage of the Beijing summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) on its premises. Media reports alleging that the hotel owner, dissatisfied with CBS’s coverage, prohibited the network from broadcasting political content on the hotel premises, are not true, the hotel said in a statement issued last night. The reports were “inconsistent with how the hotel actually handled the matter,” it said. The hotel said it received a refund request from a