More than 80 percent of Taiwanese women who are physically abused by their husbands have a tendency toward depression, with one quarter considered to be seriously at risk of committing suicide, according to the results of a survey released on Thursday.
The survey was conducted by the Modern Women's Foundation between October last year and February on 219 female victims of domestic violence who have sought help from the Taipei, Shihlin, Hsinchu, Hualien and Tai-chung District Courts.
The average age of the victims was 39.72, while the period of violence endured by the victims averaged six years, four months and seven days, with the most recent incident of violence occurring 22.58 days before the survey was conducted.
Evaluating the respondents' mental condition with a brief symptom rating scale, the survey found the respondents measured an average score of 12.3, which indicated a moderate emotional disturbance, or a situation requiring psychological counseling.
The survey showed that 35.6 percent of the abused women were severely emotionally disturbed and only 42.9 percent of respondents had never thought of committing suicide.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
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The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
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