The New Taipei City Education Department yesterday said it would inspect a major preschool operator following recent reports of alleged child abuse, warning that contraventions could result in penalties, including the revocation of its operational permit.
The department said that it would carry out a full inspection within a week of all 10 preschools under the Yu-Chuan group, with possible penalties ranging from reduced enrollment to suspension of enrollment, suspension of operations and revocation of its operational permit.
Separately, the department's Division of Early Childhood Education said it has a zero-tolerance policy for the mistreatment of children and would investigate, punish and publicly announce contraventions in accordance with the law, while also penalizing preschools for lapses in supervision and management.
Photo: CNA
The responses came after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Yueh-chin (林月琴) at a press event accused the preschool operator of illegally employing unqualified staff, repeatedly breaching regulations over multiple years and treating children improperly.
The event was attended by Lin, Jing Chuan Child Safety Foundation executive director Hsu Ya-jen (許雅荏) and representatives of families affected by alleged child abuse.
From 2020 to last year, the Yu-Chuan group's 18 preschools in New Taipei City and Taoyuan were repeatedly penalized for employing unqualified staff, yet oversight failures allowed the problem to persist, Lin said.
Citing an incident at the group’s Tucheng preschool in August last year, Lin said that surveillance showed an employee surnamed Tseng (曾) repeatedly pulling, pushing and hitting children many times over four days.
At least five children were affected, yet the case was closed after a fine of just NT$30,000 was paid, Lin said.
The city's Education Department at the time only provided summary reports, preventing parents from fully understanding what their children experienced, she said.
During the press event, a mother surnamed Tsai (蔡) called on the government to carry out thorough evaluations and inspections, and urged the preschool operator to honestly address its mistakes.
The parents of allegedly affected children made four demands, including a reassessment of cases to determine if heavier penalties are warranted, a full inspection of all preschools under the group while new enrollments are suspended, a registry to prevent unqualified staff from moving to other preschools, and the provision of complete surveillance footage and investigation reports to parents.
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS