On average, 26 babies have been abused to the point of death or serious injury every year since 2020, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday.
People in Taiwan have killed or irreversibly injured 134 infants through domestic abuse in the past five years, Department of Protective Services Director-General Chang Hsiu-yuan (張秀鴛) said.
More than 25 percent of the babies died, while more than half of those who survived had irreversible brain injuries, Chang said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
More than 90 percent of those with brain injuries were under two years old, she said.
Children who purportedly sustained brain injuries from falls often turned out to be victims of abuse, she added.
Parents in distress from dealing with infants should turn to the nearest social service, family education or parent-child center for help, Chang said.
The government can support hard-pressed families with money, baby care resources, and stop-gap baby care or other community-based solutions, she said.
Shaken baby syndrome is among the most prevalent and dangerous forms of infant abuse, said Lee En-pei (李恩沛), a critical child care specialist at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Changhua County.
The diagnostic indicators for maliciously inflicted injuries include black eyes, bruises behind the ears, cerebrospinal fluid leak via the nostrils, facial or cranial floor fractures, diffuse brain lesions, cognitive decline and spinal injuries, Lee said.
The mortality rate for infants with such injuries is 25 percent, she said, adding that there are additional risks of delayed palsy and retinal bleeding.
More than 70 percent of the children who survive would develop epilepsy, palsy or cognitive disabilities, more than 50 percent would lose some or all of their sight and 20 percent would not be able to eat on their own, she said.
People planning to become parents should prepare themselves by setting resources aside for child rearing and making coparenting arrangements, said Tsai Ming-chuan (蔡明娟), a clinical psychologist at the New Taipei City-based OK Mood Clinic.
Parents at a loss with a crying infant should stop, take a walk, breath deep, exercise and think about something else to keep calm, she said.
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
DIPLOMACY: It is Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo’s first visit to Taiwan since he took office last year, while Eswatini’s foreign minister is also paying a visit A delegation led by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo arrived in Taiwan yesterday afternoon and is to visit President William Lai (賴清德) today. The delegation arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4:55pm, and was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). It is Arevalo’s first trip to Taiwan since he took office last year, and following the visit, he is to travel to Japan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Arevalo said at the airport that he is very glad to make the visit to Taiwan, adding that he brings an important message of responsibility
About 3,000 people gathered at events in Taipei yesterday for an annual candlelight vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, a brutal crackdown by Chinese authorities on a student-led demonstration in Beijing on June 4 36 years ago. A candlelight vigil organized by the New School for Democracy and other human rights groups began at 7pm on Democracy Boulevard outside Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, with the theme "Resist Transnational Repression, Defy Totalitarianism." At about 8pm, organizers announced that about 3,000 people had attended the event, which featured brief speeches by human rights advocates from Taiwan and China, including Hong Kong, as well
RSS