Taiwan has “zero tolerance for domestic violence,” Minister of Health and Welfare Hsueh Jui-yuan (薛瑞元) said yesterday in response to a former health official saying that people beat their family members because they cannot hit the president and premier.
Former department of health minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) made the comment at an event organized for Hon Hai Precision Industry Co founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) in Hsinchu City on Sunday.
When speaking about domestic violence, Yaung said that it exists “because the public is unable to beat up President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), as they have security escorts for protection. So people instead hit people who are weaker than them, by beating up their wives and children.”
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Late on Sunday evening, Presidential Office spokesperson Olivia Lin (林聿禪) asked Yaung to apologize.
“We strongly condemn those talking about domestic violence for derision purposes, using it to attack others, and Yaung should publicly apologize,” she said.
Hsueh said that Yaung was using partisan politics “to find excuses for domestic violence,” adding that “it is complete nonsense.”
“Although in the past people believed that ‘legal authority cannot apply inside family homes,’ it took a lot of work and quite a long time to change the public’s thinking [on domestic violence]. There can be no excuse for domestic abuse,” he said.
In response to media queries, Yaung yesterday questioned why he should apologize.
“I can speak out as a member of the public... Are we not in a democratic country?” he said.
“I don’t want to apologize. What can they do to me? Would the Presidential Office send people over to arrest me and throw me in jail?” he added.
Regarding the connection between domestic violence and Tsai, he said: “Right now Taiwanese are living under terrible conditions. Is this caused by me, or by that person in the Presidential Office? Those rotten eggs inside the Presidential Office are the ones responsible.”
On reports that advisers for Gou, who yesterday announced his intention to run as an independent in next year’s presidential election, want Yaung to apologize, he said “that is their business, not mine.”
“I believe what I said was correct. You cannot say it was a gaffe, just because the words are not pleasant for people to hear,” he said.
Meanwhile, health authorities urged the public to call the 113 hotline if they are in a domestic violence or abusive situation. They can also seek help at local government’s centers for prevention of domestic violence and sexual assault.
Additional reporting by Jason Pan
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
RSS