A civic group yesterday called on the government to offer greater support to the families of people who suffer from the rare genetic disease Prader-Willi syndrome.
The issues facing such families were highlighted recently after a nine-year-old girl who had the disease was allegedly killed by her father.
The families of patients with the disease need a lot of understanding and assistance from the public and the government, Prader-Willi Syndrome Association director Chin Hui-chu (秦慧珠) said.
They also need regular visits by social workers to prevent tragedies, Chin said.
She urged parents of children with the disease to seek help outside their family circle.
The child who was allegedly killed by her father had been featured in a documentary on Prader-Willi syndrome released this year, produced by Shih Shin University’s Department of Radio, Television and Film.
On Thursday, police found the bodies of the child and her father, who was a taxi driver in New Taipei City (新北市). Police suspect it was a murder-suicide, prompted by the man’s inability to pay his debts and take care of the child.
People with Prader-Willi syndrome tend to have an intense craving for food and often develop diseases linked to obesity, such as diabetes and hypertension.
Chin, the mother of a Prader-Willi patient, said that as children with the disease grow older they want to have more control over their lives, which makes it more difficult to take care of them.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs has fined Taobao NT$1.2 million (US$36,900) for advertisements that exceeded its approved business scope and ordered the Chinese e-commerce platform to make corrections in the first half of this year or its license would be revoked. Lawmakers have called for stricter supervision of Chinese e-commerce platforms and more stringent measures to prevent China from laundering its goods through Taiwan as US President Donald Trump’s administration cracks down on origin laundering. The legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday met to discuss policies to prevent China from dumping goods in Taiwan, inviting government agencies to report on the matter. Democratic Progressive Party
Taiwan and its Pacific ally Tuvalu on Tuesday signed two accords aimed at facilitating bilateral cooperation on labor affairs, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). The governments inked two agreements in Taipei, witnessed by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) and visiting Deputy Tuvaluan Prime Minister Panapasi Nelesone, MOFA said in a news release. According to MOFA, the agreements will facilitate cooperation on labor issues and allow the two sides to mutually recognize seafarers’ certificates and related training. Taiwan would also continue to collaborate with Tuvalu across various fields to promote economic prosperity as well as the well-being of their
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
NEW WORLD: Taiwan is pursuing innovative approaches to international relations through economics, trade and values-based diplomacy, the foreign minister said Taiwan would implement a “three-chain strategy” that promotes democratic values in response to US tariffs, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said. Taiwan would aim to create a “global democratic value chain,” seek to capitalize on its position within the first island chain and promote a “non-red supply chain,” Lin was quoted as saying in the ministry’s written report to the Legislative Yuan submitted ahead of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee meeting slated for today. The Ministry would also uphold a spirit of mutual beneficial collaboration, maintaining close communication and consultations with Washington to show that Taiwan-US cooperation