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
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
A preclearance service to facilitate entry for people traveling to select airports in Japan would be available from Thursday next week to Feb. 25 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) said on Tuesday. The service was first made available to Taiwanese travelers throughout the winter vacation of 2024 and during the Lunar New Year holiday. In addition to flights to the Japanese cities of Hakodate, Asahikawa, Akita, Sendai, Niigata, Okayama, Takamatsu, Kumamoto and Kagoshima, the service would be available to travelers to Kobe and Oita. The service can be accessed by passengers of 15 flight routes operated by
Taiwanese and US defense groups are collaborating to introduce deployable, semi-autonomous manufacturing systems for drones and components in a boost to the nation’s supply chain resilience. Taiwan’s G-Tech Optroelectronics Corp subsidiary GTOC and the US’ Aerkomm Inc on Friday announced an agreement with fellow US-based Firestorm Lab to adopt the latter’s xCell, a technology featuring 3D printers fitted in 6.1m container units. The systems enable aerial platforms and parts to be produced in high volumes from dispersed nodes capable of rapid redeployment, to minimize the risk of enemy strikes and to meet field requirements, they said. Firestorm chief technology officer Ian Muceus said
MORE FALL: An investigation into one of Xi’s key cronies, part of a broader ‘anti-corruption’ drive, indicates that he might have a deep distrust in the military, an expert said China’s latest military purge underscores systemic risks in its shift from collective leadership to sole rule under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), and could disrupt its chain of command and military capabilities, a national security official said yesterday. If decisionmaking within the Chinese Communist Party has become “irrational” under one-man rule, the Taiwan Strait and the regional situation must be approached with extreme caution, given unforeseen risks, they added. The anonymous official made the remarks as China’s Central Military Commission Vice Chairman Zhang Youxia (張又俠) and Joint Staff Department Chief of Staff Liu Zhenli (劉振立) were reportedly being investigated for suspected “serious
RSS