The Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) legislative caucus yesterday unveiled proposals for amendments to the Criminal Code, including that murderers of children should be given the death penalty.
In the wake of several high-profile child abuse and murder cases, lawmakers across party lines have proposed amendments to increase punishments for child abuse under the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act (兒童及少年福利與權益保障法) and the Criminal Code.
KMT legislators Alicia Wang (王育敏), Lai Shyh-bao (賴士葆) and Hsu Chih-jung (徐志榮) each tendered a draft amendment to the code stipulating life sentences or the death penalty for people guilty of murdering minors younger than 12.
Photo: CNA
Another proposal by Wang calls for people who treat minors younger than 16 in a way that could hamper their mental or physical development, leading to their death, to be sentenced to death.
Wang and several other KMT lawmakers proposed amendments to the act that would require daycare centers to have surveillance cameras and set fines for centers that fail to check carers’ credentials before hiring them, as well as paramedics and social workers who fail to report potential child abuse.
Speaking at a news conference at the Legislative Yuan, KMT caucus secretary-general William Tseng (曾銘宗) called on social workers to seek out and visit high-risk families where child abuse is more likely to occur — such as financially disadvantaged families or those with adolescent parents who might lack childcare knowledge — and conduct routine follow-ups to ensure that children in such families are safe.
The caucus asks the Executive Yuan to create an ad hoc project — an intergovernmental effort by the Ministry of Education, the National Police Agency and the Ministry of Health and Welfare — to improve child protection, he said.
As of yesterday, lawmakers had submitted 16 draft amendments to the code and 29 to the act, he said.
To speed up the review process, Tseng recommended sending the drafts from a preliminary review to cross-caucus negotiations and then to a second review.
The nation’s social safety net is lacking 549 social workers, who are responsible for conducting family interviews, Wang said, calling on Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) to quickly fill the posts.
The death penalty must be an option when meting out punishments for child abusers, she said, adding that it was a way to pursue justice.
Taiwan Children’s Rights Association director-general Wang Wei-chun (王薇君) agreed with Alicia Wang’s remarks, saying that violence against a child that cannot fight back is a form of murder.
Police should be given the authority to intervene in child abuse cases, as social workers do not have the power to do so, which can hamper the prevention of abuse cases, she said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated