A leading US missing child advocacy group is warning parents that spending hundreds of dollars on space satellite technology to keep track of their children may not be as effective as they think.
The group says the technology exploits paranoia generated by recent headlines of kidnapped children, and may lead to ignorance of basic safety lessons for children.
The company heading the charge for this new technology, Wherify Wireless of the San Francisco neighboring city of Redwood Shores, counters that one child saved with the device justifies the system.
The system centers on a relatively large, colorful plastic wrist device, worn by a child. The device uses navigation satellites circling the globe to pinpoint the child's location.
The wrist locators, which go on sale next month, already have a backlog of "thousands" of orders, says Tim Neher, the founder and chief executive of Wherify. "We are seeing an incredible response."
Technology got a big boost in the missing children field earlier this month after the success of the "Amber Alert" system in the US western state of California.
In that headline case, two teenage girls were recovered and their alleged assailant shot dead by police after the license plate of the kidnapper's truck was broadcast over roadside electrical signs.
"Technology can be the tool that leads the way for child abduction prevention," said Neher.
But missing child experts fear the reliance on such systems as Wherify will mislead parents.
Few abducted
According to Tina Schwartz, a spokeswoman for the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, only some 200 to 300 US children out of a possible pool of 60 million US children are abducted by strangers overnight or for a significant amount of time.
Using free safety rules, not expensive technology, is a more appropriate response, Schwartz said. "Every year, there's another technology that supposedly is a solution to the problem of child abductions," said Schwartz. "But the best tools are simple common sense, such as knowing where your child is, keeping a young child in your line of sigh, giving your child basic lessons in avoiding going with strangers, that sort of thing."
Global positioning system technology is limited because its signals have a very difficult, if not impossible, chance of penetrating any building that's not a full wood-frame structure. A child's GPS bracelet, she said, would have a hard time finding a homing satellite in a basement or in a commercial apartment building.
Neher admits his device isn't perfect. "But if this technology saves one child's life, it's worth it," he declared.
A Chinese freighter that allegedly snapped an undersea cable linking Taiwan proper to Penghu County is suspected of being owned by a Chinese state-run company and had docked at the ports of Kaohsiung and Keelung for three months using different names. On Tuesday last week, the Togo-flagged freighter Hong Tai 58 (宏泰58號) and its Chinese crew were detained after the Taipei-Penghu No. 3 submarine cable was severed. When the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) first attempted to detain the ship on grounds of possible sabotage, its crew said the ship’s name was Hong Tai 168, although the Automatic Identification System (AIS)
An Akizuki-class destroyer last month made the first-ever solo transit of a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ship through the Taiwan Strait, Japanese government officials with knowledge of the matter said yesterday. The JS Akizuki carried out a north-to-south transit through the Taiwan Strait on Feb. 5 as it sailed to the South China Sea to participate in a joint exercise with US, Australian and Philippine forces that day. The Japanese destroyer JS Sazanami in September last year made the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force’s first-ever transit through the Taiwan Strait, but it was joined by vessels from New Zealand and Australia,
SECURITY: The purpose for giving Hong Kong and Macau residents more lenient paths to permanent residency no longer applies due to China’s policies, a source said The government is considering removing an optional path to citizenship for residents from Hong Kong and Macau, and lengthening the terms for permanent residence eligibility, a source said yesterday. In a bid to prevent the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from infiltrating Taiwan through immigration from Hong Kong and Macau, the government could amend immigration laws for residents of the territories who currently receive preferential treatment, an official familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity said. The move was part of “national security-related legislative reform,” they added. Under the amendments, arrivals from the Chinese territories would have to reside in Taiwan for
CRITICAL MOVE: TSMC’s plan to invest another US$100 billion in US chipmaking would boost Taiwan’s competitive edge in the global market, the premier said The government would ensure that the most advanced chipmaking technology stays in Taiwan while assisting Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) in investing overseas, the Presidential Office said yesterday. The statement follows a joint announcement by the world’s largest contract chipmaker and US President Donald Trump on Monday that TSMC would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next four years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US, which would include construction of three new chip fabrication plants, two advanced packaging facilities, and a research and development center. The government knew about the deal in advance and would assist, Presidential
RSS