Reports of abuse against elderly people over the past five years have grown by 52 percent, with the majority of incidents occurring over the Lunar New Year holiday, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday.
Department of Protective Services Director-General Chang Hsiu-yuan (張秀鴛) said that most incidents of elderly abuse are due to issues of care or reliance on the finances of elderly people.
Financial problems are especially prevalent over the Lunar New Year holiday, as people working part-time jobs or who are reliant on elderly people would need additional funds due to increased expenses during the holiday, Chang said.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
As Taiwan is moving toward becoming a “hyper-aged” society, the government is seeing a rise in the number of reports of elderly people being abused, she added.
About 40 percent of calls to the 113 hotline were related to domestic abuse, she said.
The all-hours hotline is for people to report incidents or ask questions about domestic violence, sexual assault or harassment, as well as abuse or neglect of children, adolescents, elderly and disabled people.
Many elderly people are unwilling to ask for help, believing that telling others about abuse would bring shame upon their family, she said.
It is most often a neighbor, other family members or the police who report elderly abuse, Chang said.
The Lunar New Year period is when families get together, often after many months, and issues should be discussed with respect and understanding by all members, she said.
If there is a point of contention, people should walk away and cool down before discussing it further, she added.
The 113 hotline would be staffed around the clock throughout the Lunar New Year holiday, Chang said.
In addition to the telephone service, people can also text or use the hotline’s online services, she said.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Taiwan will now have four additional national holidays after the Legislative Yuan passed an amendment today, which also made Labor Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) used their majority in the Legislative Yuan to pass the amendment to the Act on Implementing Memorial Days and State Holidays (紀念日及節日實施辦法), which the parties jointly proposed, in its third and final reading today. The legislature passed the bill to amend the act, which is currently enforced administratively, raising it to the legal level. The new legislation recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the
MORE NEEDED: Recall drives against legislators in Miaoli’s two districts and Hsinchu’s second district were still a few thousand signatures short of the second-stage threshold Campaigners aiming to recall Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators yesterday said they expect success in 30 out of 35 districts where drives have passed the second-stage threshold, which would mark a record number of recall votes held at once. Hsinchu County recall campaigners yesterday announced that they reached the second-stage threshold in the recall effort against Legislator Lin Szu-ming (林思銘). A total of 26,414 signatures have been gathered over the past two months, surpassing the 10 percent threshold of 23,287 in Hsinchu County’s second electoral district, chief campaigner Hsieh Ting-ting (謝婷婷) said. “Our target is to gather an additional 1,500 signatures to reach
RSS