New Taipei City has been the municipality in Taiwan with the highest number of reported rapes over the past several years, data released on Friday by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) showed.
In 2011, reports of rape in New Taipei City accounted for 15.7 percent of the nation’s total rape reports, while reports in New Taipei City made up 18.3 percent of the nation’s rape reports in 2017 and 17.6 percent last year, the ministry said.
Last year, Taiwan had 9,183 reports of rape — a 10-year low — down from 11,458 cases in 2018, the ministry said, adding that New Taipei City was followed by Kaohsiung (12.2 percent) and Taichung (12.1 percent).
The high number of reported rapes in New Taipei City is unsurprising, said an analysis by Cheng Chi-chia (鄭其嘉), an associate professor in Fu Jen Catholic University’s department of public health, as the municipality has a large population with plenty of people who are teenagers to middle-aged.
Commenting on a surge in rape cases in Taipei, Kaohsiung and Tainan, Cheng said that residents of those municipalities might have become more willing to report cases.
Last year, Kaohsiung accounted for 12.2 percent of the nation’s total reported rape cases, up from 10 percent in 2018, while Tainan increased to 6.4 percent from 5.8 percent and Taipei increased to 10.3 percent from 9.4 percent, the data showed.
By contrast, Taoyuan — second behind New Taipei City for reported rape cases in 2018 — accounted for 11.5 percent of the nation’s total reported rape cases last year, down from 14.2 percent a year earlier, the data showed.
Forty percent of rapists are the victim’s friend — a category that includes family friends, classmates and neighbors — while 10 percent are online acquaintances and 4 percent are strangers, the data showed.
Parents should get to know their children’s friends, and show caution when asking friends or family members to look after children, Cheng said.
Last year, 64 percent of rape victims were minors and nearly 10 percent of those victims were aged 12 or younger, while adult victims were mostly aged 18 to 20 (12 percent), she said, citing ministry data.
Adolescents tend to be unaware that having sex without protection can lead to getting pregnant or contracting sexually transmitted diseases, Cheng said, calling for more sex education for teenagers.
Parents and schools need to increase gender and sex education, teaching children that physical intimacy requires mutual consent, she said.
“Every parent must have the birds-and-the-bees talk with their children, and the point must be made clear,” Cheng said.
‘VIRUS DIPLOMACY’: The nation’s expertise in handling COVID-19 was among the reasons that it should not be excluded from the WHO, the European Parliament said The European Parliament this week passed resolutions that support Taiwan’s bid to participate in the WHO and its intention to negotiate a trade pact with Taiwan. During its plenary session from Monday to Thursday, the parliament approved resolutions on the foreign policy consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak and the EU’s trade policy, parts of which were viewed as friendly toward Taiwan by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In a statement yesterday, the ministry welcomed the passage of the resolutions and thanked the parliament for its support for Taiwan. In the first resolution, the parliament cited Beijing’s increasing threats to Taiwan, the crackdown on
The gig began with a nun chanting on stage, but suddenly erupted into a wall of noise unleashed by distorted guitars and screamed sutras — the unique sound of Taiwan’s first Buddhist death metal band. The nation has a vibrant metal scene, but few outfits are quite as eye-catching as Dharma (達摩樂隊), a band that aims to deliver enlightenment via the medium of throaty eight-string guitars and guttural roars. Dressed in robes — black, of course — they use traditional Sanskrit sutras as lyrics, but everything else screams death metal, from bloody face paint on stage to growled vocals, relentless riffs and
LOOPHOLES: The people behind biased media content produced by a Chinese network, likely without sending staff to Taiwan, remain anonymous, a source said Beijing’s latest attempt at psychological warfare through heavily biased online media is aimed at sowing discord and polarizing Taiwanese society, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. The council’s comment came in response to Chinese network Southeast Television, which late last month began broadcasting an online program featuring commentary by Taiwanese unification supporters that authorities suspect was filmed illegally in Taiwan. To circumvent cross-strait regulations, the broadcaster collaborated with online service provider Baidu to air the series titles Diverse Voices From the Taiwan Strait (台海百家說). Only Taiwanese are shown on camera, without revealing the host, interviewer or production team. In one video, political commentator and
SUPPRESSION: Michael Tsai, a former defense minister, said that Beijing’s list of Taiwan independence advocates contravenes the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights The best way to respond to threats from China against Taiwan independence advocates is for the president to publicly reiterate Taiwan’s sovereignty, former minister of national defense Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) said on Sunday. Chinese media on Nov. 15 said that the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) was compiling “a list of stubborn Taiwanese separatists and will severely punish them in accordance with [China’s] Anti-Secession Law and hold them accountable for their actions for the rest of their lives.” Chinese media subsequently accused Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) of being a “first-rate war criminal,” because of his policy on mask exports. “The vast majority
RSS